A Death
by crosseyedbutterfly
Summary: Keitaro and Naru are married with three children and everyone at Hinatasou is happily together...and then an untimely death is forced upon them...the result? Changes and then a new beginning...finished
1. Death

A fic that's a bit different from everything else on fanfiction.net, I believe. At least in the Love Hina section, anyways. I've only seen the anime through the Spring and Winter specials, so don't shoot me for this timeline. 

Disclaimer: I don't own 'em, don't sue me because I'm about $1,100 in the hole right now trying to fix a dead car and you won't get jack.

Preview: Keitaro and Naru got married their Junior year of college, had a little boy their Senior year and a little girl two years after they graduated. Everyone else is still there as well even though now it's 5-6 years after both of them graduated, as to what they're up to you'll soon find out. Then you have the new character too. But then tragedy strikes... the question is to whom, what comes off it, and how will things puzzle themselves out in the end?

P.S: Mainly from Motoko's point of view. 

The Tragedy...

^*^*^*^

"Motoko-san, look!" beamed Keitaro as he proudly held up a small bundle for her to see. A tiny baby girl gurgled at her from his arms, blinking her eyes sleepily. "I am a father!!"

"You already where, baka," Naru reminded him from her hospital bed where a young girl and boy sat expectantly on either side of her. 

"Congratulations," replied Motoko firmly, a slight smile on her face. "To both of you. She is a beautiful child, one to make you both proud, I am sure."

"She looks just like you, Naru," added Kitsune from where she stood beside the kendo woman. "The eyes, the nose, even your smile..."

"I want a picture with Keiko-chan!!" cried the boy, a joyful smile on his face as his mother ruffled his hair.

"Me too!! Me too!!" added his other sister, who met his smile with one of her own. "Wiff mommy too!!"

"Shh...you'll wake her up," Naru admonished them gently as Keitaro handed the baby to its mother and quickly prepared the camera he'd brought with them.

"Motoko-san," he said as he held it out to her. "Would you mind...?" 

"Get over there," she replied, shooing him towards the others as she took it from his hands and backed up a bit. "Smile everyone..." *click*

"Excuse me," said the Doctor as he stuck his head in the door, his glasses sliding down his nose as he tried to shuffle through the files in his hands. "Urashima-san...I wish to speak with you and your wife for a moment, if it is at all possible?"

"We will go," decided Motoko before Keitaro could protest, Kitsune scooping up little four year old Sizu-chan from her mother's side as Motoko took the seven year old Shinji in her own arms. 

"Well, thank you for looking after the little ones for me," replied Keitaro as the Doctor slipped over to Naru's side and whispered something in her ear. "We do appreciate it greatly, as they're most used to you, even though it cuts into your training..."

"It is nothing between frieds," cut in Motoko as Kitsune headed out the door, following her slowly. "Besides, I am rather...fond of the young ones myself. Shinobu and Su send their congratulations as well, and will be here tomorrow to see you."

"Of course. Good bye."

"Bye."

*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*&^&*

"Come on, sugar," said Kitsune with a smile as she hoisted the small girl on her back outside the hospital and began to walk to the subway. "Don't you start with those tears again, your Mom and Dad will be home soon enough." Sizu was average sized for her age, the long black hair that she'd inherited from Hina-san's husband flowing freely over her shoulders. Her brother had the same coal black hair except it was shorter and stuck out at funny angles, but they both had the same amber eyes their aunt had and Sizu looked like her father in face and mannerisms while Shinji tended to lean towards his mother in that way.

"Will mommy be home soon, Motoko-obassan?" asked Shinji, looking up at her with trust and concern shining in his eyes.

"Of course," she replied, setting him on the ground so he could walk on his own. "Just remember, Shinji-kun, you're the man of the house until your father gets home, right?"

"Right!" Shinji puffed his chest out, strutting in front of her importantly. "I'll protect you!"

Motoko hid her smile behind her hand as they reached the station and boarded the subway car. "I'm sure you will."

@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@#%#@

Naru stood in front of Hinata-sou, an anxious look on her face as she handed the now three-month old Keiko over to Motoko's capable arms. "You are sure you are ok with this, Motoko-chan? It seems unfair to me, dumping the three of them on you like this..."

"It will be fine," Motoko assured her for what seemed the millionth time. "Go, before you're late for your...?"

"Doctor's appointment," explained Keitaro as he hurried into his coat to guard against the late fall chill and helped Naru with hers as well. "Just a final check, according to the doctor, and then to the school so she can get her materials for this next semester."

"Ah, right." Motoko smiled at the baby in her arms as she gurgled happily, reaching to tug on Motoko's hair gently. "Be careful, and call if you need anything."

"Isn't that what we're supposed to say to you?" said Naru teasingly as she walked out the door with final wave. "Bye, Motoko-chan!"

"Take care, Naru-chan."

"You worry to much," teased Keitaro as they made their way to the subway at a quick walk. "The children can be no safer than when they're with Motoko. She cares for them as if they were her own, and would rather die than see one of them hurt. And while it's like pulling teeth to get her to admit it, she does love them very much."

"I know," replied Naru with a smile. "But I am a mother at heart, and I do think sometimes of giving of teaching just so I could stay home all day with them."

"You'd miss teaching too much," replied Keitaro with a grin. "This way they are happy, you are happy, and Motoko gets a discount on her rent as before. I've tried to pay her more, but she refused to accept it at all."

"Stubborn to the last," added Naru with a sigh. "But you're right, I worry too much. Everything will be fine, won't it?"

Keitaro nodded firmly. "Always."

*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*()*

"Shinji get your bag, you're going to be late," called Motoko as she fed Keiko her bottle, shifting the baby and the bottle so she'd have one hand free as she heard the door open behind her. Turning quickly, she paused as she took the lone figure in. "Hm? Haruka-san!" She raised her eyebrows in surprise, then bowed. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Just an offer to take Shinji to his school today, since you obviously have your hands fully," replied Haruka with an easy nod. She refrained from smoking in the house most of the time for the sake of the kids, but hadn't given up the habit in the least. "Muchiko is to return home today, is she not?"

"Hai, Onnesan will be by in awhile to get her herself." Motoko used her freed hand to give Shinji a one-armed hug before shooing him out the door after Haruka. "Behave, Shinji-kun, and remember Su-chan is picking you up today!"

He smiled, and waved to her as he ran down the steps. "Hai, Obassan!!"

"Obassan!!" cried Sizu, latching on to one leg as Muchiko followed at a slower place, looking up at Motoko solemnly. Even at five years old, she resembled Motoko greatly with short blue-black hair, serious gray-hazel eye, pale skin and love for the sword. Most thought she was her daughter and not her niece, and considering it was Motoko who taught her the sword and not her mother they weren't far from wrong.

"Sizu-chan, you cannot do that when I'm holding Keiko-chan, remember?" Motoko reminded her gently, now using her free arm to remove the little girl from her leg with a slight smile.

"Oh..." The girl sobered for a moment, then perked back up in an instant with a grin. "Gomen, Obassan."

"It's ok." She turned to Muchiko, who bowed slightly. "Muchiko-chan, are your things ready to leave?"

"Hai, Motoko-obassan," replied the girl softly. She kept her head down, but it was obvious from the way she fiddled with the handle of the wooden blade in her belt that something was wasn't right.

"Chico-chan," asked Motoko as she knelt beside the girl, Sizu having taken off for the kitchen were sounds of breakfast were coming from. "Is something wrong? You know you only have to ask if you wish to visit again..."

The girl brightened back up, then frowned. "But...the baby, and your agreement..."

"Keiko is not my child, or even my true niece," replied Motoko firmly. "I will always have time to help you train. Besides," Motoko rewarded the girl with one of her rare full smiles. "I always like just having you around."

Muchiko beamed. 

"Ara, is anyone home?" called a familiar voice are Motoko sent the girl after Sizu to the kitchen for breakfast. "The front door was left open..." *thump*

Mutsumi-san?" Motoko turned to see the young woman passed out on the threshold of the Inn. "Some things never change..." She dragged her to the couch and lifted her up there, leaving her to wake on her own. Eventually she would, and greet those who were around or find her way home. It was just the way things were, and would probably always be.

"Something wrong?" asked Kitsune, the resident alcoholic as she groggily stumbled out into the hall, having heard the thump. Seeing Mutsumi lying on the couch, and Motoko standing there still feeding Keiko her bottle, she nodded in understanding. "Oh..."

"Good morning to you too," replied Motoko, wrinkling her nose.

*yawn* "Man that '82 had a kick to it that I wasn't expecting," muttered Kitsune as she ran a hand through her hair, ducking back into her room before appearing a moment later a good bit more presentable. She still kept herself at least two glasses from sober at all time, but rarely became as raging drunk as she had every night in her younger days. Somehow she managed to live at Hinata-sou, though she didn't have a job as far as the others knew. Still, no one questioned where she got the money as long as she paid her rent on time and only tried to cheat Keitaro out of a few yen occasionally.

"Come, Shinobu will have breakfast ready by now," Motoko reminded her, leading the way to the kitchen. 

"What about that one?" asked Kitsune, jerking a thumb at the girl passed out on the couch. She yawned again and stretched, her eyes remaining in their trademark ^_^. 

"She'll join us if she wakes, or leave later on," replied Motoko. 

"Right..." She smiled at little Keiko, who had finished her bottle and was being burped on the way to their breakfast. "Aww....she's growing fast, Motoko-chan."

"Hai, she is," admitted Motoko softly, falling into her own thoughts for a moment before Kitsune jerked her out of them again.

"I still don't get why you have that deal with them," she stated out of the blue. "If you calculate how much you'd make if you charged what other sitters make, it's worth twice your rent per month, and Keitaro only knocks off half. Or you'll only let him knock off half, whatever. Think of all the yen you'd make..."

"I don't do it for the yen, Kitsune," replied Motoko calmly as she began to clear the table of Su's latest project with one hand. "Only someone with the wrong priorities would."

"Well, my priority is sake, and that happens to cost yen," replied Kitsune with a shrug as she took the bowl from in front of Sizu. "Hey, easy there squirt! Leave some rice for us."

"Gomen," replied Sizu with an apologetic smile. "Just so good...wanna eat it all!!"

"Yeah, yeah, kid. Just curb the appetite next time..." Kitsune waved the four year old off. Shinobu smiled brightly as she brought Motoko and Kitsune their plates and tea, Sun running in randomly and grabbing some bananas before zooming out the door again with a wave. Everyone just went on as usual, since Su had taken to sleeping late and barely making it to class on time with her new job.

"I will hold Keiko for you," said Shinobu as Motoko felt the child leave her arms in surprise.

"Are you sure?" replied Motoko. "I can manage, you know."

"H-hai, Motoko-sempai," replied Shinobu with a blush. "It is my last day, you know, and I won't get to see her for a long time."

"Oh, yes, when do you want me to help you take your things to the station?" put in Kitsune. "And what's the payment again?"

Motoko's head shot up in surprise, her chopsticks with rice paused in midair. "Kitsune, you're charging her to her to help her with her things?!"

Shinobu giggled. "No, Motoko-sempai," she explained softly. "I'm giving her all the sake I was sent in congratulations that I never drank." She shrugged lightly. "I rarely drink it, and otherwise it would go to waste..." Her eyes flickered for a moment.

"Shinobu-chan, you know we are all very proud of you for what you've accomplished," said Motoko with a serious, but kind expression on her face. "We will miss you, but you will be home for Christmas and Su-chan will be coming to join you there in a month."

"Yeah, not every person who fries up noodles can get into America's top Culinary Arts school after graduating with a Major is Cooking," added Kitsune with a smile. "Go you!"

"Arigato, Kitsune-san, Sempai," replied Shinobu with another blush. She glanced at the clock. "Aii! I'm going to miss the train! Come on, Kitsune!" She rushed out the door, depositing Keiko in Motoko's arms along the way before snatching up part of her bags and slipping her jacket on while on the go.

"I'm coming..." The foxy lady winked at Motoko and whisked out the door with a bottle of sake in one hand and the rest of the bags in the other. "Later!"

The swordswoman smiled slightly to herself, shaking her head as she rose slowly and cleared the dishes into the sink while the girls washed their hands. While doing so, the doorbell rang.

"Mama!!" Muchiko ran to the door with Sizu on her heals, the mini-swords girl smiling happily as she opened the door and flung herself at her mother's legs.

Tsurako laughed and smiled broadly, gathering the little girl up in her arms. "Ah, Muchiko-chan! I hope you behaved, as expected...?"

"Of course she did," affirmed Motoko as she came from the kitchen at a slower pace, Keiko still snuggled firmly in her arms and Sizu hiding behind her legs. The young woman bowed in deference to her older sister. "Oneechan..."

"You are being silly, Motoko-chan," sighed Tsurako as she pulled her little sister into a hug, mindful of the baby. "It is I who should bow to you, the new head of our clan! Is this little on Naru and Keitaro's newest, though?"

"Hai." She held the child out slightly so her sister could fuss over it gently for a moment. "She's called Keiko. She looks just like her mother, doesn't she?"

"Which makes me wonder why she's not with her and you aren't home leading the Dojo," replied Tsurako as she leaned over to pick up the bag Muchiko had dragged out, Sizu still looking up at her with wide eyes from being Motoko's legs. 

Motoko frowned. "Oneechan!"

"You finished your degree in 3 years, and graduated with all honors," pointed out the woman firmly. "With a major in Law and a minor in Martial and Weapons Arts. The years after that you completed and Mastered the few ki techniques you had not learned. You have learned much here, yes, but I believe it is time to come home." She paused as Muchiko tugged on her skirt and pointed to their ticket. The train was to leave in 10 minutes. "We will continue this discussion later, Motoko-chan." She scooped up Muchiko and headed down the steps at a breakneck speed.

"Sayonara, Motoko-obassan!"

"Bye, Chiko-chan! Come and visit me again soon!"

"I will!"

"Byebye Chiko!"

"Bye, Sizu!!"

"Let's go," said Motoko as they disappeared from view. She closed the door, Sizu skipping along at her feet as they made their way upstairs. "We'll get you changed, and then we'll go to the park."

"YEAH!!" Motoko go them both changed and cleaned up, packing another bottle for Keiko as she gurgled happily. The child seldom seemed to cry, and was rarely without a smile. They were just about to leave through the back when someone knocked on the front door, then opened it.

"Motoko-san?"

"In the kitchen, Haruka-san!" Motoko called back, recognizing the voice instantly. The older woman walked in, wiping her hands on her apron out of habit as another woman followed her in slowly from behind.

"I have someone I want you to meet," explained Haruka before Motoko could ask any questions. "This is Alicia Smith." The young woman stepped forward slightly, about 20 or so from what Motoko could see with an open smile on her face and a cane in her right hand. She was as tall as Haruka was, with light skin, short red hair and a dusting of freckles over her nose. Her eyes, Motoko imagined, would be as open as her smile but were hidden from view by the dark, silver rimmed shades she wore. Dressed modestly in jeans, a long sleeve T, and a jean jacket, she was obviously from America. "By the way," added Haruka as Sizu latched herself onto her obassan's leg and Alicia bowed slightly in Motoko's direction. "She's blind. Get her a room on the bottom floor, will you? Keitaro is expecting her." She lifted Sizu from her leg by the collar and gave her a baleful look, Sizu just grinning back ever so charmingly and getting a smile in return despite the older woman's best efforts.

"Hai, Haruka-san," replied Motoko in slight surprise, taking Sizu from Haruka and setting her on the ground. The girl promptly vanished upstairs for goodness knows what as Haruka let herself back out, giving Motoko a wave as she did. "Welcome to Hinata-sou, Smith-san. I am Aynoma Motoko, but you may call me Motoko."

"Arigato for helping me settle in," replied Alicia with another bow her accent only slightly obvious in her near-fluent Japanese. "Please call me Alicia, though. Haruka-san asked me if I'd like to live here while your resident cook is out studying abroad to take her place so I can attend a school here as well." She stepped forward, then hesitated. "Uh...may I touch your face?"

Motoko paused. "...my face? Why?"

"Gomen, Motoko-san," apologized the young lady quickly. "But since I cannot see with my eyes, I see with my hands..."

"Oh, right." Motoko nodded to herself, then took one of Alicia's hands so she could guide it to her face. "Here. Be careful, though, I am holding a baby..."

"Is she yours?" asked the blind woman with a smile as she moved her gentle hands from Motoko's face to Keiko's. "Ah...she's not, is she?"

"No," replied Motoko slowly. "How did you know that...?"

"Her facial bone structure is as different from yours as night is from day," explained Alicia with a chuckle. "She's still cute, but her beauty is different from yours."

"Oh..." Sizu suddenly jumped from at Alicia from behind where the stairs were, a huge smile on her face. 

"GERONIMO!!"

"Eh??"

"SIZU!!"

Motoko paused halfway on her way to grab Sizu from the air when she noticed Alicia shift like one who could feel the small body heading for her head and move so she caught the human projectile instead. "Oomph!! A little heavy there, aren't we?"

"Bah!! Wanna kick 'Licia-san like Su-chan taught me!" pouted Size as she let Alicia run a hand over her face, then hopped to the floor.

"Sizu, you know better than that," scolded Motoko as steered the young girl to the couch. Alicia politely hid her smile and bit down a chuckle as the Sizu was placed there and told to stay until they were ready to leave. Motoko than turned back to her. "May I ask you something, Alicia-san?"

"Hai, if you wish," replied Alicia with a slight nod.

"How did you catch her like that?" questioned Motoko. "That is...if you would not consider it rude of me to ask."

"I would call that curiosity, not rudeness," replied Alicia with a laugh. "As to catching her...it was just a stroke of luck. I heard her coming and hoped for the best."

"I see..." Motoko shrugged and easily swung Alicia's bag up on her shoulder with her one hand as Keiko continued to lay snuggled in the other. The child was so good sometimes it was scary... "Well, I am glad you have come to help with the cooking now that Shinobu has left us for awhile, and hope you enjoy your stay here. Shall I show you your room?"

The red head nodded quickly. "Yes, please." Motoko led Alicia along by letting her place a hand on her shoulder.

"The first room on the right is Naru and Keitaro's room. The one beside it is Kitsune's, whom you shall meet tonight, and the one across from hers is yours..." She slid up the door and moved aside to let Alicia in, setting her bag by the door. "Do you need some help, or should I help you settle in?"

"Thanks, but I'm good." Alicia turned and bowed with a smirk. "I must say, though, you are the first to not question my abilities as a blind cook."

Motoko chuckled dryly. "When you've seen a girl who can turn anything mechanical into one of her toys and lives with her room as a jungle, a three time ronin who is seemingly indestructible finally make it into his dream school, a t-...tur-...reptile who can fly and supposedly talk, and a woman who's so often intoxicated that you only worry when she's sober you tend to just take everything else in life in stride."

Alicia laughed out loud, nodding her head. "I see what you mean. Well, thank you for your help, Motoko-san."

"It was my pleasure," replied Motoko with a slight bow. "I must return to the little ones, though. Bye."

"Later."

)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(

Su came skipping in as usual, Shinji on her back with a huge smile on both their faces. "Mmm!! Something smells good! Motoko-chan, did Shinobu get a new recipe?" 

"No, that's the new cook, Alicia-san," replied the kendo woman from where she stood beside Keiko at the changing table. "Oh, Su-chan, would you come here and take care of Keiko for a moment..."

"Nope, no stinky diapers for Su!" the young woman said with a wink. "Gomen, Motoko-chan, that's your job." She set Shinji down and went about her business, popping in the kitchen to come back out with her cheeks stuffed full of something a few moments later to disappear upstairs.

"Hm." Motoko turned to the baby and began to change her soiled diaper slowly. "Eh...this is the one part of the job I do not like..."

"Motoko-obassan!!" Shinji and Sizu came running back into the room, latching onto a leg each. "Can we have a piece of Alicia-san's banana bread?" asked Shinji urgently. 

"Please??" added Sizu sweetly.

"I suppose a bite wouldn't hurt," replied Motoko slowly, smiling as the two cheered in delight and raced off towards the kitchen. "Just a bite!! You already had a snack, Sizu, and dinner's only a few hours off!"

"I will only give them a taste," called Alicia from the kitchen. "Besides, a tan-skinned with blonde hair whirlwind just blew through here and devoured 3/4ths of it in one bite. I'm going to have to make more for after the meal..."

"Anyone home?" called a familiar voice from the front of the Inn, Sizu and Shinji immediately running and latching themselves around Keitaro's waist as he walked in the door. "Shin-kun! Sizu-chan! How was your day today??" He chattered on with them for a few moments, Motoko following at a much more sedated pace as she noted along the way that Mutsumi had awoken sometime during the day and taken herself home again.

"Keitaro-san!!" yelled Su, jumping from the top of the stairs with her foot forward, only to miss as Keitaro ducked once again. "Aw...shucks."

"Gonna have to do better than that," replied Keitaro with a wink. "How was work today, though?"

"Great! They let me rewire the computer system since I'm leaving in a month to head for the States, and I got to mess with the programming too so now everyone has Tama-chan as their trouble shooter system!!" The said turtle suddenly flew in from the hot springs, landing neatly on Su's head.

"Tama-chan! Your back!!" Su danced around happily with the turtle still on her head, passing very close to Motoko as she walked into the room with Keiko in her arms. 

"ACK!!" She shifted the baby to her left arm and had her katana out in a blink with the right.

"Motoko-san!" Keitaro grabbed her sword arm and held it still, talking quickly in a low voice. He knew it was a stupid thing to do, though, and feared more for himself as he did than even for the child that Motoko held for as long as it was in her arms it was perfectly safe. "Relax, Motoko...you cannot blast Tama-san, remember? I know you don't like turtles..."

"They're vile, filthy creatures! This one has returned to haunt me again!!"

"Swilly Obassan," chirped Sizu as she came out and the turtle landed playfully on her head. "Tama-chan fun!!" 

"It's a t...tur...shelled reptile!!" protested Motoko, though she lowered the blade slightly.

"Motoko," said Keitaro slowly, going in for the kill. "Shinji and Sizu love Tama-san...you wouldn't want to make them sad, would you?"

"You're using guilt on me to save that thing," said Motoko in disgust with a suppressed shudder. She lowered the blade, though, and resheathed it after pulling herself from Keitaro's grip. "You are either a very brave or very stupid man, Keitaro."

"Very stupid, most likely," he replied ruefully, taking Keiko from her before passing the gurgling baby onto his wife. "Are you going to train, now?"

"In a moment," replied Motoko, heading for the kitchen. "Alicia-san!" she called lightly. "Keitaro is here, the Manager Haruka told you of!"

"Coming!!" Alicia appeared a few moments later, her shades still on place but with an apron on as she'd been cooking some things for dinner early. "Konichiwa, Urashima-san," she said respectfully with a bow. "I am Alicia Smith, the one Haruka spoke of...?"

"Oh, right!" replied Keitaro, bowing in turn. "Welcome, Smith-san. I am sorry if you found things a little unprepared for you, I wasn't expecting you to arrive for another week or so! That's what Haruka-san said anyways..."

"I know, and I'm sorry if it inconvenienced you in anyway," replied Alicia, slightly hanging her head. 

"Oh, it's alright," Keitaro quickly reassured her. "We're used to things being more than a little off here at Hinata-sou. Please, call me Keitaro. As Motoko-chan said, I'm the Manager here and will try to assist you in anyway I can!"

"Arigato," replied Alicia, suddenly turning her head slightly and rushing into the kitchen. "Excuse me for just a moment!!"

"Why does she wear the shaded glasses, mom?" asked Shinji as he tugged on Naru's skirt, her turning and looking down on him with a smile. 

"I'm not sure, Shinji-kun. Do you know, Motoko-chan?"

"She's blind," replied Motoko with a shrug. "But completely competent from what I can tell, regardless. She made a wonderful lunch for the kids and I. However, now I am off to train." She turned with a wave and set off down the hallway, heading for the stairs that would lead her to the roof.

"A blind cook...? Well, we've seen stranger things..."

"We'll send someone for you when dinner's ready," Naru called after her as Motoko nodded her thanks, Alicia appearing a few moments later apologizing for forgetting that she'd left the stove on. 

The evening went as smooth as any at Hinata-sou, Kitsune trying to have a drinking contest with the new cook, and then finding herself drunk under the table by an American who seemed unable to get drunk. Keitaro and Naru spent time with their children (who ran everywhere and destroyed things playing) and Su continued to build something she called 'The Ultimate Mecha Tama'. At least life was never boring around there, Motoko thought to herself as she began to practice up on the roof, if that was a quality you desired in your life.

~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~!@!~

A month passed, everyone setting Alicia into their lives in some way or another, and time continued on. To the kids, she was their new favorite aunt who spoiled them with treats and goodies in the kitchen. To Keitaro and Naru, who only saw her at meal times and in the late evenings, she was a nice tenant who did her share of the work and wished they could get to know better when they had the time. To Kitsune she was a drinking buddy when she was blasted and someone to talk to when she was not. Su loved her for her banana bread and the two of them had spent evenings baking batch after batch together to be devoured moments later. For Motoko, she was invaluable friend whom she took care to never take advantage of but was always grateful for her help with the young ones when things got more than a little hectic.

Motoko sat in the sun on the floor of the living room, lightly mediating in the calm joy around her as Keiko slept beside her in a basket and Shinji and Sizu built towers with wooden blocks. with Alicia nearby.

"Lookie, obassan!!" cried Shinji as he pulled her sleeve lightly. "I made a tower like Alicia-chan's!"

**_*crash*_**

The boy turned aorund to see Sizu lying sheepishly among the heap of blocks that had once been his tower. "Oopsies...went boom..."

"Sizu-chan!!" He ran at her, fists balled in rage.

"AHH!! Gomen!!" Motoko rose quickly and was about to catch them both when the phone rang. Alicia motioned for her to answer it as she rose as well, turning to chase the pair with a mischievous smile.

"Mooshi mooshi, this is Hinata-sou," said Motoko politesly as she cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear, reaching for the fussing Keiko in her basket. "Aoyana speaking."

"Motoko, it's Keitaro!!"

"Keitaro-san?" Motoko frowned and looked at Alicia who was walking back with Shinji on her shoulders and Sizu wrapped around her right leg. "Aren't you supposed to be with Naru shopping? Did you forget your wallet again?"

"Motoko-chan, listen to me," said Keitaro, his voice on the brink of breaking as he practically begged her over the phone. "I need you to come to the Tokyo hospital. Bring the kids with you, and leave a note for the rest."

Motoko clamped down on the panic that welled up inside, forcing herself to be calm. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

She felt the relief in his tone practically wash over her through the line. "Arigato, Motoko-san."

"Mhmm." She hung up the phone and turned around quickly. "Alicia-chan," she said crisply as she gathered together Keiko's things. "Get Sizu-chan her coat and shoes. Shinji-kun, get your things, we need to go."

"Is something wrong, Obassan?" asked Shinji as he slid from Alicia's shoulders, the blind woman pausing to hear her answer.

"We're just going on a trip," replied Motoko with a forced smile. "Please just go get ready quickly, ok?"

"Are we going to take the train?"

"Hai."

"Yeah!! Shinji and Sizu ran off, heading for the closet.

Alicia started to follow, then paused again. "Do you want me to come too, Motoko-chan? They are a handful..."

"If you could," replied Motoko quickly. She finished packing Keiko's bag and slung it over her shoulder, the 4 month old baby snuggling into the crook of her arm and falling back into it's afternoon nap once more. Scribbling a note tot eh others, like a whirlwind they swept out the door and headed for the train station. 

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Shinji and Sizu sat side by side on their knees as they stared out the window, exclaiming quietly to one another at the sights that whizzed by outside the train. Motoko and Alicia sat to their right, Keiko still asleep in Motoko's arms. 

"You're worried," murmured Alicia as she stared straight ahead, both hands clasping the cane that she held over her lap. Motoko didn't reply, knowing it was training alone that was keeping her as clam and collected as she appeared. Inside, fear was squeezing her heart so tight she thought it would burst. Her stomach in knots from worry, Keitaro hadn't explained the situation to her and all she could do was hope for the best.

"To put it lightly," she whispered after several moments. "Yes."

"You are no use to anyone as a bundle of nerves," murmured Alicia, laying a hand on Motoko's arm. The warrior could practically feel the soothing calm that radiated from that touch, her heart slowing to its normal pace and her muscles loosening their tautness bit by bit. 

"Arigato," sighed Motoko as she closed her eyes, finding herself peacefully centered as she'd been taught once again.

"A gift between friends," replied Alicia, tilting her head back as the train began to slow. The speakers crackled overhead, announcing their destination: Downtown Tokyo. "Come on, guys, we're here."

Normally, when Motoko and Alicia took the two out, Shinji would take the lead and proudly help Alicia along by holding her hand. But Motoko swept the young boy up in one arm with Keiko in the other, Alicia following along with Sizu on her back and her cane hooked on Motoko's bag. The crowds seemingly parted before them as all five rushed towards Keitaro and the Hospital, leaving a clear path by which they could run. 

They just hoped it wasn't too late.

??????????????????

Keitaro paced back and forth by the front desk, checking the time every few seconds as he vigilantly waited for any sign of his friends to arrive. The doctors still wouldn't let him, and watching for their arrival was the only thing he could do. He paused as his imagination began to take over, images of the others being held up by the train breaking down, or even worse crashing into something!! Or what if...

"Otosan!!"

"Shinji-kun!" He picked up the little boy, who had jumped from Motoko's arm the moment he'd seen his father, and hugged him tightly. "Oh, I'm so glad you're here..."

"Papa?" Sizu clambered down from Alicia's back and attached herself to Keitaro's leg. "Why we here, Papa?"

"Don't worry about that, sweetie..." He brought her into his arms as well, carrying them both to another room on the other side of the waiting room and setting them down there. "I need you both to be brave and stay here for awhile, ok? Papa, Motoko-obassan and Alicia-san have something they need to take care of, and then we'll be back." Motoko smiled at them reassuringly, handing Keiko over as well with her diaper bag. 

"Hai, Otosan."

"Hai, Papa."

Keitaro smiled, his eyes practically shining with the love he had for them. "That's my good children." The nurse in charge pulled the pair in, amusing them with blocks similar to those Alicia had used earlier that day so they were soon absorbed in building towers once again.

"Urashima-san?" asked one of the doctor's, appearing suddenly. Keitaro turned quickly, a frantic look on his face. 

"Is she ok??" he demanded, Motoko and Alicia right at his heals. "What's going on??"

"She's stable at the moment, sir," replied the doctor, pausing for a moment as he caught sight of the two women behind Keitaro.

"These are two of her closest friends, tenants at our boarding house," explained Keitaro quickly. "They brought the children as you asked. Please, can I see her, Doctor?"

"You can," assented the Doctor, holding out his hand as Keitaro tried to rush straight down the hall. "But...I must warn you. She's extremely weak. We ran another test and the result is not good..."

Keitaro paused, and then gulped. "How much longer does she have?"

"A few days, a week at the most, perhaps."

"A week?!" Motoko burst out, grabbing Keitaro's shoulders and spinning him around so she had a hand on each of his shoulder's. "Keitaro, what does he mean she only has a week at the most?! I just saw her this morning, and she was fine..."

"Motoko, please," begged Keitaro as he put a hand over her mouth. "I will explain everything I promise, just let me see Naru-chan first..."

The kendo woman paused, then nodded slowly, Alicia taking her arm and guiding her slowly down the hall after Keitaro and the Doctor. The hallway seemed to stretch in before them into infinity, finally turn right and leading them to a set of doors in a hallway that ranged along its self in periodical intervals. The Doctor opened the first of these he came to, cautioning them again not to overwhelm the sick woman and standing aside so they could enter before he closed it once again.

"...Naru?" Keitaro sat beside his wife who lay there still as death, her naturally pale skin as white as a ghost with webs of red and purple covering her arms. Motoko stood just inside the door, too in shock to do anything else. Her eyes slowly opened, her face calm and composed though the trail of sweat down her forehead betraying the pain she was in.

"Keitaro...?" She sighed, then smiled wanly. "I suppose that...nothing can be fine forever...ne?"

"Everything will be fine," he insisted quietly, Alicia murmuring something in Motoko's ear about the children before slipping back out the door and down the hall, leaving the three of them alone for the time being. "Even the doctor said so..."

"Liar," she chided him gently, turning to look at Motoko. "I'm sorry, Motoko-chan, I should have told you and the rest earlier..."

"You did what you thought was best," Motoko whispered quietly, barely trusting herself with that at the tears that came from the sight of her friend. "What has happened is in the past."

"You still deserved to know," replied Naru, pointing weakly to the seat on the other side of the bed. "There...sit down. That is, if sitting by the IV doesn't creep you out too much..."

"It's fine," she replied softly, taking the offered seat. Kitsune burst in just as she had settled herself, a worry written all over her face as she took in the scene before her.

"Naru!"

"Kitsune." Naru smiled, reaching out for her friend who stumbled to her side in shock. "I...Gomen, Kitsune. You're the first I should have told of all."

"It doesn't matter now, sugar," replied the now-sober alcoholic as two others entered the room, Haruka with an unusually serious expression on her face and Mutsumi with Tama-chan hidden in her shoulder bag. Motoko cringed at the very sight of the creature, but stayed still as they were in a Hospital at the moment. "Just as long as you're going to be alright, and we find a way to cure you..."

"There isn't one," said Naru adamantly, silencing all protests with a stern look. "Don't give me false hope. I know what this is, and I know what it's doing to me. I watched my great aunt die from the exact same thing when I was younger, for it's a condition that comes out in one female every few generations of my family. Sometimes it strikes early, other times it doesn't come until the very end of life, but once it starts up, it is impossible to stop. My days left are few, I know this, and it no longer bothers me because I've had time to prepare myself for it. I don't want to but..." She paused there, nodding her head slowly. "I'm ready to say goodbye."

"Never!" cried Keitaro in denial. "The Doctor, when he first told us, said it would be years before it would affect you. Even when he checked in with you a month ago with the tests he confirmed it! It's not your time, Naru-chan, I'm not letting you go!"

"You don't have a choice." The finality in the doctor's voice from behind them all struck them all silent, Keitaro standing up straight and turning slowly to face him.

"Then there is nothing we can do?" he asked, his voice building with anger every moment. "Nothing at all?!"

"You can stay here at her side, and gain a few more memories until it ends," the Doctor responded firmly. "Gomen, Urashima-san, that is the best any of us can do."

"But it's not good enough!" thundered Keitaro back, balling his hands into fists. "There must be something...!"

"Calm yourself, Urashima-san!" ordered the Doctor. "I don't want to, but if you insist upon making a spectacle of yourself I'll call security and you can do it outside this facility!"

"He will be fine," stepped in Haruka, pulling Keitaro to the side and giving him a look that made him shut up immediately. Even at 31 he feared her, and probably had reason to too. "You have my word."

"Good." The Doctor nodded, then looked at Naru sadly. "Gomen, but I have other patients who need tending to..."

"Go, then," replied Haruka. "We will send for you if anything is needed."

"Arigato." He turned and left, closing the door behind himself once more.

The hours passed, Naru bringing their spirits back up with her smile alone as she assured them time and time again she was fine and needed nothing more than their presence. Su, who had left just two days before, and Shinobu were called and given time to talk to her, promising to call each day and speak with her again and wishing they had some way to get home. 

The children were fetched from the nursery and allowed time with her too, tracing the red and purple lines with their fingers as their mother slowly explained to them that she was very sick and wouldn't get to see them for a long time. Keiko, of course, was too young to understand and lay there making bubbles with her spit while smiling at her mother all the while. 

Night fell, and a bed was made for Keitaro by the nurses in one of the chairs of the room. Haruka , Alicia, and Mutsumi (who hadn't fainted yet that day) went home with the children, Kitsune refusing to leave Naru's side and Motoko staying with her to make sure she was alright. Curled up together on a bench outside the room, the foxy lady cried herself to sleep on Motoko's shoulder, the kendo woman keeping watch over her and the rest through the night in meditation.

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Kitsune woke well before dawn, finding herself asleep on someone familiar somewhere she didn't remember, but had a horrible feeling about. Slowly, she sat up and focused her eyes, taking in the dozing Motoko and the starch-white halls. The hospital? Why in the world was she...Naru.

She stretched her legs and moved away from Motoko completely, waking her in the process. The swordswoman opened her eyes and sighed, stretching out her arms before checking that her wrapped blade was still attached to her back. She'd taken to wearing it there when the teacher's refused to let her on the Tokyo U campus with it openly at her side. 

"Ah, gomen Motoko," whispered Kitsune, lowering her tear-reddened eyes to the ground. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's alright," replied Motoko in a low voice. She turned her head as her own eyes began to tear. "Sleep isn't really a priority right now."

"Yeah..." Kitsune leaned back, blowing air out her mouth in a huff that stirred her drooping bangs lightly. "I still can't believe it...I mean, yesterday morning she was fine and telling me not to drink so much wine in front of the kids, and now..." She stopped and sucked in a deep breath of air, holding back the tears. "I...can remember even now when we first met...and then moved to Hinata-sou together in High school and met you and the rest...our world there was perfect." She laughed weakly, then amended, "Or as perfect as it could get. Then Keitaro-kun bumbled in and everything changed...but still, everyone was happy for the most part and eventually he too fit right in too. Then came little Shinobu-chan, our ever sweet and innocent chef...and Mutsumi, who still passes out everywhere she goes..."

"You can't forget Su's brother and sister," added Motoko quietly with a grin. "Or Seta-san and Sarah-chan."

"Yeah, them too." Kitsune drifted off again, strung between sleep and her memories as Motoko gently draped her coat over her again and rose gracefully, stretching out her stiff joints as the nurses came and went, some just arriving and others leaving in the change of shifts.

"Motoko-chan?" She turned, seeing a sleepy Keitaro sticking his head out of Naru's room. "Would you mind getting me some coffee? It's in the cafeteria, but I don't want to leave Naru-chan..."

"I understand," she replied with a wry grin. "And I could use some tea myself. I will be back shortly, Keitaro-san." She bowed slightly and spun on her heel, disappearing silently down the hall before he could thank her at all.

The walk down to the hospital food court gave Motoko more time to think and reflect over her own feelings, something she hadn't done since they arrived at the hospital itself and found out about Naru's terminal illness. Her grief alone was enough to overwhelm the young woman, coupled with her helplessness at being unable to help her friend and anger at the helplessness. There was a hole in her heart where Naru had given her friendship, one that ached with emptiness just at the thought that one of her closest companions would soon leave them forever. Sadness was there too, floods of it that made her want to curl up and cry like Kitsune had the night before. 

She paid for the tea and coffee, distantly remembering to pick up the cream and sugar Keitaro liked with it as she continued to mull over their situation morosely. She decided she would wall up her feelings for now and deal with them later when everything was over. Keitaro, Kitsune, and the rest needed her to be strong for them right now, and so she would. 

Opening the door with her elbow, she slipped into Naru's room to find Keitaro asleep again, this time with his hands clasped around Naru's and his head laying on the bed at her side.

"Morning," said Naru, who was awake," with a small smile, seeing the drinks in Motoko's hand. "Keitaro said he'd asked you to get him something...but I think we'll let him sleep a bit more, ne? Besides, I need to talk to you, Motoko-chan...it will not be long now, and this is something that is too important to wait." She motioned to the chair on the other side of the bed, which she took silently after hanging her wrapped katana on the back, setting the tea on the table nearby.

"What is it you need of me?" she asked quietly after settling herself, looking Naru straight in the eye. "Ask me anything and I will do it if I can."

"My children," replied Naru sadly, turning to look at Keitaro's hands, which she stroked fondly. "Our children, that is...there's no one I trust more than you, Motoko-chan, with them and no one they love more than you. Swear to me you'll watch after them always, even if Keitaro remarries and has another wife?"

"I swear it on my blade, in the name of friendship," replied Motoko immediately. "And it honors me that you would trust me with such precious beings as them."

Naru laughed weakly. "They are very precious to me, yes. And I can ease my thoughts concerning them knowing you will be there for them always. But that is not all..." She paused there, looking sadder by the moment as Motoko patiently waited for what Naru had to say next. "I...I want you to watch over Keitaro as well," she whispered, a tear tracing it's path down her cheek. "He's a silly man, Motoko, and even now when he's supposed to be all grown up he needs someone to keep him in line..."

"You were always the best at that," murmured Motoko, closing her eyes as she considered what Naru had said. "That's why he married you."

"I want him to be happy," went on Naru slowly, sniffling every now and then. "Even without me there. I've already told him more than once that he needs to remarry, to find someone else to help him raise our children, but he is so stubborn sometimes, and that's why I ask you to watch over them as well..."

"And I will," replied Motoko firmly. "Naru, I love them like they were my own, as everyone at Hinata-sou does. They will be well cared for, I promise."

"I know," Naru stated slowly. "But I still worry about Keitaro as well. Please promise me you'll watch over him too, Motoko? Be there for him as you've always been for the rest of us...strong and steady when we were not...or a big sister, like you were to Su-chan....she still looks up to you more than any other..."

"She's still a foolish child," replied Motoko in embarrassment. "I am hardly as you described me, Naru-san, but for you sake...I will do my best."

"Arigato."

"Hmm..." Keitaro stirred in his sleep, breathing deeply. "Now I know I smell coffee..."

"Hot and waiting, sleepy head," teased Naru as Motoko rose with a bow and slipped back out of the room, her tea in one hand and sword in the other. Kitsune looked at her dazedly from the bench and she offered her the rest of the tea, which she accepted gratefully to wake herself up before going into the room as well and spending more time with her dying friend. Motoko sat guard by her door once more on the bench, legs crossed underneath her and the wrapped blade balanced over her knees as doctors and nurses passed her back and forth during the day.

Night came once again, the Doctor going in the room at sundown and coming out again with a strained expression on his face. Motoko met his eyes, and he nodded once, leaving down the hall from which he'd originally come.

Rising to her feet, she walked in and stood by the bed, putting her hands on Kitsune's shoulders as Naru began to fade before their eyes. It was obvious she wouldn't last much longer, the webs of red and purple standing out under her skin, sucking the very life from her body. 

"Goodbye, Keitaro...Kitsune...Motoko..." she murmured as she closed her eyes, her body fully relaxed for the first time since they'd arrived as she could no longer feel the pain. "I...I love you...tell my children...I will miss them too...Keitaro..." Her head sank back as her eyes closed, the body going limp as she breathed her last and her heart stopped altogether, the monitor beside the bed going to a flat line.

"Naru...!!" Keitaro lost it completely and began to weep uncontrollably, Kitsune joining him as they each held one of her cold, lifeless hands as if they could somehow pull her spirit back into her body. 

"You can't be gone..." sobbed Kitsune, turning and burying her head into Motoko's side, the other woman doing her best to comfort her as she lost herself in her anguish once again. "You just can't, dammit! It's not fair!"

"Shh..." Motoko smoothed Kitsune's hair and slowly quieted her, the nurses coming and taking the body away after awhile. From there, it would be shipped to the temple Naru had indicated the day before, and tomorrow her burial would be held in the family corner of the graveyard. Taking Kitsune with one arm, and Keitaro with the other, she slowly led them out and down to the front desk where she picked up Naru's things and headed out the door, hailing a taxi that took them to Hinata-sou.

Kitsune disappeared the moment they reached it, locking herself in her room where the sound of bottles being opened could be heard and the occasional soft whimper as well. Keitaro she had to help up the stairs and into the main room, staying with him as he collapsed onto the couch and cried himself to sleep on her shoulder. Her own sadness came and went, making her numb and overwhelmed by turns, but she forced herself to remain calm and steady even as she gently removed herself from him and covered him with a blanket before heading up to the roof of the boarding house.

There, she found Alicia perfectly balanced on the rail of the area where the clothesline was, her cane below her on the ground and her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Alicia-san?"

"Hm? Oh! Motoko-san..." The young woman unfolded her legs and swung around so she was standing beside Motoko, a sad smile on her face. "Naru-san...?"

"Died right after sunset," came the short explanation. "Tomorrow is her burial, as requested."

"I see." Alicia ran a hand through her hair, watching the katana wielding woman as she obviously was torn between keeping her calm exterior and giving in to the raging emotions inside of her. "You know, Motoko-san...it is ok to cry."

"I know." Motoko set her chin stubbornly. "But others need someone to be there for them when they shed their tears."

"I have shed mine," replied Alicia softly. "When I put Keiko, Shinji, and Sizu to bed tonight and realized their mother would never again see them like this, nor they her. I think it is time your shed yours as well."

Motoko lost it completely as Alicia talked about the young ones, tears pouring down her face as Alicia wrapped her arms around her protectively and held her like a mother soothing a sobbing child. 

"Naru-chan...I'm sorry...I wish I could have done more..." The moon rose and fell overhead, time passing but neither noticing it at all. Motoko merely allowed herself to be comforted, and let Alicia be the strong one for once.

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The memorial service was held the next day, Naru already buried for health reasons and everyone visiting the fresh grave afterwards. Keitaro managed to pull himself together afterwards, getting his things in order again, and packing up Naru's things after a few days to send back home. Her ring and a few pictures were all that he kept, the rest going in boxes to be shipped or packed away for later on. 

Everyday he went to work and threw himself into it wholeheartedly, taking only a week break after her death before returning because the only way to keep himself from thinking about it was to keep himself busy. Still, every night he collapsed on the couch and cried himself to sleep on Motoko's shoulder, the young woman then covering him with a blanket and heading to the roof where she and Alicia talked. At first, it had been mainly about Naru and the times they'd had together, but as of late the topics had begun to grow and Motoko found herself confiding things in the girl that she'd never admitted to anyone before and wondered at the change in herself. 

Kitsune, though, was a mess. After the service she got drunk again and hadn't been fully sober since. Not that she ever was, but more so than usual. She ranged between sobbing sloppily on her bed with grief and intoxication and complete exhaustion where she simply laid there and didn't move for hours at a time. Finally, Haruka, who was coping in her own way of making elaborate paper fans, dragged her out of her room and dumped her in the hot springs, telling her to either pull herself together and come work at the Tea Shop or to pack it up and leave. 

No one knew how Su or Shinobu were, though Alicia had supposedly spoken to them once or twice and claimed they were fine. Their Christmas plans were cancelled, though, due to the cost of the flight and it was rescheduled for that summer, at the earliest possible date they could manage.

Shinji and Sizu lost part of their spunk for awhile, the two playing quietly most of the time and sticking close to either Keitaro or Motoko whenever possible. Each was given as much attention as the rest could provide, as well as a break from school so Shinji could settle himself before he had to work again. They healed quickly, though, and while they missed their mother they still had their father and the rest of their huge family. Keiko was fine as well, only being three months old, and now slept in Motoko's room so she could be watched constantly. 

Mutsumi disappeared back to her hometown after she heard the news of Naru's death and was never heard from again, though Tama-chan stuck around and flew messages between the two parties every once in awhile. 

Grandmother Hina, however, was missing again on one of her Hot Springs ventures and no one knew where to find her nor how she would react when she returned. 

Motoko was the first to see her again, sitting on the couch with Keitaro fast asleep in her lap and her running her fingers through his hair as if he were a child. The old woman slipped in suddenly, leaving her bags by the door and turning to give Motoko a surprised look.

"Motoko-chan! What are you doing?? Naru-chan will kill you if she sees you like that..."

"Hina-san..." Motoko sighed and rose slowly, then told the older woman her bad news. Much to her surprise, Hina just grunted and nodded. 

"I knew it would come to her," she sighed with a shrug. "Same as I knew it would come to Kasumi, her great aunt. I will miss the girl dearly, and will stick around for awhile to make sure Keitaro has picked up the pieces to his shattered life, but when you get as old as I do you stop thinking of the friends and family you've lost and be grateful for those you still have."

Motoko nodded, seeing the wisdom in this. "I will remember that, Hina-san." She nodded and stumped up the stairs, Motoko following soon after to go to the roof. Still more time passed, and slowly the wound of losing one so close to them began to fully heal. And while it left a scar behind, while scars mark where a hurt has once been, it no longer hurts itself and is merely a reminder of that which once was.

XD~XD~XD~XD~D~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD~XD

Just so you know, Naru's death is based off something I saw in a Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episode, I think. It was called the quickening, there, where all these people were born with these spider web lines all over them, and when their time had come the lines would turn red and they would die a painful death very soon after. There was no cure, either, until the crew made a vaccination so babies could be born without it, though they could not save the parents. Yeah.

Just so you know, I don't hate Naru. That's why she wasn't randomly shot or anything and given time to say goodbye. In fact, she's one of my favorite characters, this is just a bug of an idea that wouldn't leave me alone. 

Um, so let me know what you think. Part two is either up at the same time or very, very close behind so the end is near. Three parts in all, if it works out. Hope you enjoyed it, much love.

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	2. Changes

And here's part two! ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Sue me and get...*looks on desk* A bottle of aloe vera and a broken pencil. Maybe.

Changes

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Motoko rose before dawn as she always did, even these two months after Naru's death, taking Keiko with her in the small basket she slept in to the roof for her morning meditations. The air was chilly and a light layer of snow covered everything, prompting Motoko to leave the basket just inside the door with a space warmer beside it, going out on her own into the cold that she knew wouldn't bother her but might the small child. 

Christmas had come and gone, and while the entire household (even Kitsune, who'd managed to finally pull herself together) celebrated with the usual excitement and vigor, a shadow hung over it that couldn't be cast away that all in the boarding felt at one point or another. Shinobu and Su sent them pictures and presents, telling them of their new lives in America in a long letter while also many questions as to how the others were doing. Naru wasn't mentioned, as if her very name was a taboo for awhile, but Motoko could read between the lines and promised herself to write them back telling of how everyone had recuperated from her death thus far. To know that Keitaro was back on his feet greatly cheered them, and though he was even more of a workaholic than ever that they assumed was only normal for the time being. 

Alicia, who was still living there, had seemingly faded into the background for the most part, and while she still cooked all the meals only Motoko saw her during any other time of the day on a regular basis. And that was usually at night, where Alicia spent each evening teaching Motoko to spread her senses even further and to rely less and less on her eyes, like a blind person must. No one knew where she went during the day, disappearing and appearing at irregular intervals, and while some did wonder at this as long as their meals appeared on time and they were sure she was still alive and well no one bothered to ask.

"Motoko-san, breakfast is ready," called Kitsune from the doorway to the flat roof, picking up Keiko from the basket as she did. "Aw...good morning, sugar. You are happy to see Kit-chan, aren't you??"

"She's always happy to see anyone," replied Motoko in a gentle, teasing manner as she took the her from Kitsune's arm. "She smiles so much, it's a miracle her face hasn't split yet."

"Same as her mother," replied Kitsune, her face twisting for a moment after she said it before she regained her composure once more. "Eh...gomen, Motoko-san..."

"It's ok," Motoko assured her quietly. "We all miss Naru-chan, Kitsune, you most of all. We are glad to have you back as well though..." She smiled wryly for a moment, then added, "You would have been missed, too, had you tried to join her before your time, Kitsune-san."

"Nice to know someone cares that I'm still around," quipped Kitsune as they started down the hall. "The way Haruka-san works me, you'd think I was her slave or something."

"She does care, and you know it," chided Motoko. "Otherwise she wouldn't have pulled you out of your room like she did. She may be a little rough about showing it, which I'm guilty of as well, but when it counts she's there for you no matter what."

"You rough types don't have to dump me in the hot springs, though, fully clothed," Kitsune pointed out as she opened the door for Motoko, letting her into the kitchen first.

"Morning, Obassan!" called Shinji from where he was shoveling down his breakfast. "Morning Kit-chan!"

"Good morning, Shinji-kun," replied Motoko as she took her seat, Kitsune just giving him a smile while affectionately mussing up his hair before telling Alicia Haruka needed to see her after breakfast and sailing through the door towards the teahouse.

"Obassan?" asked Sizu as Keitaro came in the room with the small girl on his shoulders, picking her up from there to set her in her seat.

"Hai, Sizu-chan?" Motoko looked up from feeding Keiko her sliced banana and bits of toast, her usual breakfast.

"Go to park??"

"After breakfast, if the weather is good."

"YEAH!! Arigato!"

"You're welcome."

"I'll be late from work, Motoko-san," said Keitaro as he gulped down his tea, giving her an apologetic smile as he did. "I know I promised there would be no more overtime, but there's something I must do..."

"It's fine," Motoko assured him with a nod. "I'll just rearrange to call my sister tomorrow. Not that I entirely mind..." She sighed, knowing she had to tell her sister the truth this time about her new role within the Inn and didn't look forward to it in the least.

"Arigato." He finished the hot drink and set it in the sink, bowing to them all from the door before rushing towards the front. "Don't bother waiting up, I don't know when I'll be back!"

"Hai..."

"Let's go," said Alicia as Shinji rushed out of the room to grab his backpack, then headed out the door. She wiped her hands on a towel and removed her apron, sliding on her usual jean jacket before grabbing her cane and heading for the front door to meet up with the small boy. "Do I need to pick up Shinji after school, Motoko-san?"

"No," replied Motoko over her shoulder, still sitting in the kitchen. "Haruka-san is picking him up today to go shopping, his clothes are getting too small again."

"Another growth spurt, hm?" Alicia patted the boy's head as he stood tall to proudly display his new inch and a half of height. "Well, little man, you'd better use those longer legs of yours to walk fast or we're going to be late."

"Hai, Alicia-chan!"

"Later, Motoko."

"Bye."

"Now??" asked Sizu as she finished slurping up her noodles, the sauce all over her face and hands as she gave Motoko a pleading look.

"Silly, you can't go looking like this," Motoko reminded her as she gently wiped the sauce off with a wash rag, Sizu giggling all the while. "There...." She picked up Keiko and grabbed the bag she left packed for such excursions, heading for the door. "Now we can go to the park."

"WHEE!!"

%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%~%$#$%

Kitsune washed her hands at the sink of the Tea House before preparing the ordered drinks, noting the mail that was left on the counter for the Inn. _Must remember to take that in this time... _Someone had a bill for something or other last time she'd forgotten to bring the mail with her and by the time she had remembered it was too late and their electricity had been shut down for twenty four hours or so. Needless to say, as her electric sake warmer had been useless because of it, she never forgot again.

"You'd better not be touching the liquor back here, Haruka reminded her as she lit another cigarette.

"I'm not," Kitsune called back. "Last time I did, you took away my paycheck and I kind of need it to pay the rent and get more booze..."

"One day's pleasure it not worth a week's misery?"

"Not in this case."

"Wise choice." Haruka turned and began to walk back to the front. "Next time it might be for a month...."

Kitsune grimaced, then muttered under her breath. "Like hell, that old bat cares about me..."

"Careful what you say, Kitsune," Haruka added as she stuck her head back in the room with a slight smile. "You never know who might hear you..."

"Ah...right...gomen."

"It's ok." She paused, then added, "By the way, can you take this up to the Inn real fast? It's for Alicia and she asked for it to be waiting when she got back from school. You can take the mail, too, so you won't forget it later." Seeing as the Tea House had lost it's electricity along with the Inn, Haruka wasn't about to let her make the same mistake twice.

"What about-"

"The green tea and House special?" finished Haruka. "I'll take care of it. Go on, before she gets back." She handed her a sealed box with the mail on top of it, before nudging her out the door.

"Ok!" Kitsune turned and began the long climb up the stairs, wondering what in the world the box could contain...

_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_-=-_

"Hello??" Kitsune stood in the front doorway, marveling at how empty the house sounded when there was no one in it. 

"Is that you, Kitsune-san?"

Or as close to empty as it ever got...

"Hai, Alicia san." She put the box on the table in front of the couch and the mail beside it. "Haruka-san sent me up with something for you. A box of sorts."

"Arigato, Kitsune-san." Alicia appeared out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. Her shades perched lightly on her nose, as always, reflected Kitsune's face back at herself, but it no longer creeped her out the way it once had. "I was worried she had forgotten..."

"Nope, Haruka may be a stick in the mud sometimes, but she doesn't forget things like that," replied Kitsune with a shrug. "What's in it, anyways? It was sure heavy enough lugging it up the stairs."

"Help me open it and see." Alicia pulled out two crowbars from nowhere and handed one to the surprised foxy lady. After shaking it off, they both put their tools under the nailed lid and pushed as hard as they could. A few minutes passed as the occasional nail popped up slightly, but the rest remained stubbornly in place. 

"Man, this thing is stubborn," sighed Kitsune as Alicia called for a break, leaning on the crowbar lightly as the blind woman let go of hers to sit on the coffee table beside it. "I cannot believe it refuses to-" *creeeak* *pop* "AH!!" Kitsune lost her balance and fell as the lid suddenly popped off, landing on her butt as the wooden top landed somewhere nearby. "Ouch."

"At least it's open now," replied Alicia as she helped her to her feet, dusting herself off lightly once she was upright. "Let's see what we've got here..." She began to dig through the packaging paper strips and dumped them to the side, leaving them to pile on the coffee table as she pulled out a green, blue-veined rock she'd never seen before that was barely the size of her hand. "Aha! Just as I thought..."

"That cannot be the only thing that was in there," said Kitsune rather pointedly as she looked at the box again. It was a good foot and a half long and two feet deep. Why put it in so big a container? And a little thing like that couldn't be that heavy..."

"It is," replied Alicia firmly, then asked in confusion. "Why do you say that, though?"

"But...it's so small...and the box is big and was heavy...."

"Hold this for a minute, please." She handed Kitsune the stone, who nearly dropped it as she felt its weight. Her arms began to ach just holding the object while Alicia thoroughly searched the box with her hands and came up with not else but more packing paper that she laid to the side on the table.

"Eh...never mind..."

"It's ok, I understand," replied Alicia, easily taking the rock from Kitsune's hands and tossing it back and forth between her hands lightly as if it weighted nothing at all. "I have be somewhere right now so I'll see you later, ok? Oh, and tell Motoko there's leftovers in the fridge she can reheat for dinner, because I won't be home in time tonight, will you? Arigato!" She disappeared out the door -cane, rock, and all- before Kitsune could reply. The resident alcoholic stood there for a moment, then sighed as she headed back to the Tea House.

"Americans are so strange sometimes."

@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@~}~@

Motoko listened to Shinji and Sizu rattle on about their day, only interjecting a comment here or there as she reheated some beef, curry, and vegetables from the day before. She didn't mind making dinner for once for Alicia-san, especially after all the work she did other times when the rest weren't around to see it like fixing leaky pipes and picking up around the Inn. 

"What then?" she asked as Shinji drew himself up proudly.

"The sensei said I got the highest grade in the whole class!" he exclaimed with a smile. "On the hardest test yet, too! Can you believe it, Motoko-obassan?"

"I can, considering you've studied enough to pass any test thrown your way," replied Motoko with a nod. "Your father will be very proud of you."

"Do you think if I study hard enough I could get into Tokyo U like the rest of you?"

"I think you can do anything, if you put your mind to it, Shinji-kun."

"Alright!"

"Is dinner ready?" asked Kitsune as she came in and sat down, tweaking the always smiling Keiko's toes along the way. The baby giggled at the touch, and babbled in Kitsune's direction.

"It is now," replied the kendo woman as she set the plates on the table, Haruka appearing a few moments later to join them. Seta and Sarah appeared as well, and were invited to join them as usual for the evening meal.

"It feels odd sitting here without Keitaro and Naru being present," observed Seta as he took a bite of his food. "Mmm...very good, even for being reheated. It's not Shinobu's, though is it?"

"They have a new cook from the States," explained Haruka lightly, toying with a cigarette in one hand that she knew she wouldn't light up until she got out the door. "Alicia Smith."

"Alicia Smith...the name rings a bell, but Smith is rather common over there and I might have met someone on my travels with the same last name," replied Seta with a shrug. "Whoever she is, she knows how to cook."

"How long are you in town for this time, Seta-san?" asked Kitsune as Motoko gave Sarah, who was loading her straw with a spitball, a warning look that the young girl quickly obeyed. "A week? A month, perhaps?"

"Just tonight, actually," replied Seta with his usual, careless grin. "The boat leaves around 7, so we have to get going soon... We've got a whole new crew and everything. I hired the last man this very afternoon. Which I'm glad for, I was worried I wouldn't find a scribe of sorts to go with me. While such a venture does require a lot of brawn, those muscle heads know nothing about the science and detail it requires and bringing along someone who does who can also draw, label, and organize things helps."

"Where to?"

"Somewhere along the Australian coast, actually. Near New Zealand or something like that. Something about a lost civilization of Night Walkers..."

Motoko raised one eyebrow slightly. "Night Walkers?"

"Yes, human beings with reversed eyes." Seta finished his meal with a huge bite and stood up slowly. "Don't ask me what that means, for all the legends say is that they look just like us, humans I mean, but their eyes function better at night for some reason. A few ruins were found down around there with such inscriptions that were the same as a scroll found there. So, we're off to see if there's any truth behind it or just another set of abandoned buildings from some theme park that fell through in the last century or so."

"You've found a lot of those, haven't you?"

"Oh, about twenty two in all."

"Wow...that must get pretty disappointing after awhile." 

"Not really." Seta shrugged, continuing to grin as always as Sarah finished her food and jumped on his back. "We get to use their abandoned facilities for free for a few weeks, ne? And you'd be surprised at some of the stuff they leave behind. Perfectly usable, too! Bye!!" He turned and walked out the door, Sarah clinging to his back.

Kitsune sweated as Haruka rose and excused herself, heading for the door so she could finally have her smoke. "Right..."

"Can you get the dishes, Kitsune?" asked Motoko as she rose gracefully, getting the bottle she'd placed in the microwave and picking up Keiko so she could give the baby her final feeding. "Shinji, you need to go finish your homework and Sizu it's time to get ready for bed."

"Sure."

"Now?" asked Sizu as she gave Motoko these big puppy eyes. Unfortunately for her, they never seemed to work.

"No. Up stairs, now."

"Hai, obassan..."

"Will you help me with a problem, please?" asked Shinji as he walked into the main room and pulled out one of his notebooks and opened it to a certain page. "It had something to do with multiplication." 

"Bring it to the table and we'll see."

The evening passed as always, Kitsune cleaning the dishes quickly before saying goodnight and heading for her room for a few rounds of sake before she fell asleep. Motoko helped Shinji with his work before sending him off to bed, Sizu already fast asleep in her room where Shinji joined her shortly. Keiko drifted off and was put in her basket in Motoko's room, the kendo woman opting to stay up and catch up on some reading while she had some time to herself. While Keitaro hadn't needed her presence to fall asleep at night anymore, nor a shoulder to cry on all the time, she didn't like either him or Alicia coming home to a dark house and wanted to be there when they arrived home. 

The hours passed, her finally getting through the thousand some pages of the book she had left -which was titled '1001 ways to Fight with a Spork' before she realized it was nearly 11pm. Glancing over at the coat rack to make sure she hadn't simply missed their arrival, she noted the still empty hooks and sighed. They should have been back by now, or at least she figured they would have been. 

Hoping they were alright, she looked around for the mail and frowned. Kitsune had said it was somewhere here in the main room on a table, but all of the tables were empty except for the coffee table that was still overflowing with a box and packing paper. The foxy lady had said to leave it alone, though, and Motoko doubted it was hidden under all that trash. So where in the world was it...?

The front door suddenly opened, someone slipping inside before shutting it behind them softly. They must have noticed the light on in the room, for they called out tentively, "...hello?"

"Alicia-san?" Motoko recognized the voice and rose quickly. "You're back."

"What are you doing up, Motoko-san?" the blind woman replied in confusion. "I told Kitsune to tell you not to wait up..."

"You know I couldn't do that," replied Motoko lightly. "I hope your time was well spent, wherever it was that you were."

"It was," replied Alicia as she hung up her coat and sank into the chair nearest to it. "Ah...I feel like I've walked to Tokyo and back...Gomen that you had to wait up so late, Motoko, and for leaving this mess on the coffee table. Here, let me clean it up." She began to put the packing paper back in the box, Motoko helping to get the scraps she missed. "I'm glad Urashima-san got back earlier than planned, though. And you didn't tell me he found a new job. Did he take the kids off your hands for awhile when he got back, though?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Motoko, frowning as she paused bent over the box with paper strips in each hand. "Keitaro hasn't been home since he left this morning. That is unless he got past me and wore his shoes and coat into his room, but I doubt it. And what new job? I thought he liked his position with the Animation Company."

"Really? That's strange..." Alicia rubbed her chin as her hand encountered the mail among the bits of paper strips left. "Oh, and here's the mail. But I wonder where he could be. Or why he wouldn't tell you something like that." She handed Motoko the letters, who thanked her and sat down to sort through them while she kept picking up the few bits of packing paper left.

"You mean he wasn't at work?"

"No. I was over that way, so I stopped by about 10:30 to see if he wanted to ride back with me on the train or if he knew when he was going to be back at all. The clerk at the desk who's always there -I'm fairly sure he sleeps there at night, poor man- said Keitaro-san had left around 2 pm or so. Maybe earlier, he wasn't sure, and had handed in his resignation saying he'd found employment elsewhere. He'd then walked out with his briefcase towards the train and hadn't been found since then."

"The baka, he's probably gone and gotten himself into a fix with someone," murmured Motoko as she worriedly finished sorting through all the letters and magazines they'd gotten. Setting Kitsune's aside, she handed Alicia a few thick envelopes with her name on it before going over her own. A note from her sister that she'd read later...a bill for her last purchase at the sword shop down the street...a notification from the clan elders that she was due home for a visit...a letter from Keitaro...another Law firm asking for her to hire on as a- wait a minute!

She went back to the letter with Keitaro's name on it, tearing it open and reading it to herself as the realization of what had happened began to dawn on her. "He didn't..."

"He didn't what?" Alicia was on her feet and at her side in a flash. "Motoko, if you'd read it aloud, please...??"

"Oh! Right..." She began to read it aloud, disbelief tearing through her mind though she knew in her heart it was true. 

_Motoko-san:_

_Gomen. I will say that now as I am sorry that things had to happen this way, for I had no choice in the matter. Or, rather, I did have a choice I was just too cowardly to make any choice but this one. Again, gomen. I have hired on with Seta-san for his latest dig, though he doesn't know it is me yet. And by the time you read this I'll probably be a thousand miles away. Please don't come after me, for I need some time to think. Naru-san said a lot to me before she died, and I cannot truly continue with my life there as myself until I've had time to sort it out away from you all. _

_Gomen, again, for I've made you the legal guardian of my children, Motoko-san, until I return or they turn 18 years of age. I shouldn't be gone that long, for I will return someday, I swear. But if something were to happen to me, that is the way things are set. The only thing left to make it final is for you to sign the papers at my lawyers office. The address is at the bottom of the letter, and he will be waiting for you tomorrow. If he doesn't receive word from you within a week he will contact Hina-san of it and she has agreed to return home and take care of the children for you, and you will be released from our contract. _

_Gomen for a third time, for I have also made you manager of Hinata-sou while I am not present. Again, the papers are at the office waiting to be signed. And, again, if you do not wish to take such a responsibility, I understand and Hina-san has agreed to return and cover that as well. It is your choice._

_Perhaps it seems like I'm saying I'm sorry too much, but I feel as if I can't say it enough. It shames me to abandon the children and yourself after all you've done for us, more so than the times I ran away before. If you will do nothing else for me in light of what I've done for you, don't follow me. Don't come get me. Don't try to find me. I will come home when I'm ready, I swear._

_Urashima Keitaro._

Alicia slipped away as Motoko continued to stare at the letter in her hands, giving the woman a pat on the shoulder before disappearing into her room. Sitting back slowly, her mind torn between fury, sadness, understanding, a feeling of abandonment and that this all must be a joke somehow; she sat there continuing to stare until her eyes closed of their own accord and she drifted off into a dreamless sleep. 

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The sun was high over head as Motoko wearily trudged back up the steps to Hinata-sou, the legal documents in her bag seemingly weighing more than the wrapped blade on her back. The signing of all of them had been an emotional ordeal, to say the least, and she still wasn't sure she had done the right thing. Perhaps it would have been best to let Hina-san come home and settle matters for her...

"Obassan!!" Motoko smiled slightly as Sizu appeared at the top of the steps, during a flying leap at her, from which Motoko easily caught her and gave the young girl a hug. 

"Sizu-chan. I hope you were good for Alicia-chan," she said lightly as she switched the girl to her shoulders and they continued up the walk. 

"Lots a fun! Muchiko-chan here too!"

"Muchiko?"

"Konichiwa, Obassan," greeted Muchiko as she appeared at Motoko's side with a huge grin on her face. "Mama said you'd be here soon."

"Chiko-chan, what are you doing here?" asked Motoko, too stunned to ask anything other than that. "I mean, normally you call ahead of time..."

"Call it a 'spur of the moment' visit," explained Tsurako as she appeared at the top of the steps just as Motoko at the two little girls reached it. "Konichiwa, Motoko-chan."

"Konichiwa, Onnesan," replied Motoko with a nod as she set Sizu down and shooed the two towards the house where Alicia was standing with Keiko in her arms. 

"I'll watch them, don't worry," the blind woman called as she followed the two inside, asking them to come into the kitchen and help her with some cookies to their delight.

"That one is much more than she seems," commented Tsurako as she sat elegantly on the bench beside the front door. "However, she it not the reason for my trip."

"I did not think she was," replied Motoko rather dryly as she sat beside her sister and set her katana and bag behind her. While she still held a great respect and love for her sister, the one topic of she consistently pursued when she showed up was beginning to get a little old. The older woman had accepted Motoko's request to stay longer on account of helping with Keitaro's children at first, but she'd probably figured he had recovered enough by now to take care of things again and would resume her argument once more.

"You know why I have come again, then?" Tsurako gave Motoko a look.

"I would hope only for a friendly visit, but I doubt it is such." Motoko returned the look with one of her own.

"I had come to ask the weak and cowardly Urashima to let you free of your contract, but he has already done it for me," replied Tsurako as she held up the letter Motoko had received the night before. "No doubt you went and told his lawyers to pass the news on to his grandmother, for I knew you would return to us soon when you could honorably do so."

"I am not coming home, onnesan," replied Motoko softly as she bowed her head and pulled out the papers from the bag. "Nor will I until he has. The children need me, and I will stay here and take care of them as I swore I would do to Naru upon her deathbed. Gomen, that I did not tell you about it sooner, but it is true. I could not return home honorably if I did other wise ever again."

"But...he had things set so you could..." argued Motoko's sister in a low voice, keeping herself calm though she knew a storm raged beneath that calm and placid surface.

"He does not know of my promise to his late wife," replied Motoko simply. "Or he would not have set things so."

"It is his own fault that his children are left alone. It is not your place to step in as their guardian after all you have already done for him."

"It is my only place to do so after swearing to take care of them always."

"He is taking advantage of your honor and your love for them."

"He takes advantage of nothing, because he knows nothing except that I love them as much as he does and that he trusts only me with such precious beings as they. Tsurako, think about it, if something were to happen to you, what would happen to Muchiko?"

"That is different," countered the woman automatically. "You are Muchiko's teacher, the one who will train her in the sword. If I die, it is only natural that she goes and lives with the one whom she will reside with most of the time anyways."

"I could never live a balanced and honorable life knowing I had abandoned these children," replied Motoko firmly as she looked up and met her sister's gaze head on. "If I must return home, it will not be until their father returns."

"And if he dies, being the foolish man he is?"

"Then I will return home with the children at my side," replied Motoko slowly. "And adopt them as my own until they reach the legal age upon which they can decide to stay with us and be initiated into the clan, or to leave and make their lives elsewhere."

"Very well." Tsurako sighed and looked past her sister to the sky, then smiled. "I guess that if you were anything less than as honorable as you are, I would be disappointed in you. Gomen, Motoko-chan."

"It's alright, sister," replied Motoko with a relieved smile of her own. "It is you I learned honor from to begin with, after all."

"That is true." The two sisters let the issue drop for the first time in years and began to gossip of old friends and happenings inside and out of the clan itself. Marriages, babies that had been born, new issues that arose, and a beloved elder's death, all of which Motoko quickly absorbed before telling her sister of the other happenings within the Inn besides Keitaro's sudden disappearance and everyone's different reaction to it.

The sun began to set when they finally finished their talk, Tsurako summoning Muchiko to her side before they left. 

"All's well, I take it?" asked Alicia as she stood beside Motoko, who watched her sister leave with a smile.

"Very well," replied Motoko as she took Keiko from the blind woman. "Arigato, Alicia-san. I will make this up to you..."

"How about just keeping your end of the promise with Keitaro-san, hm?" she suggested as she strolled back into the house, leaving Sizu and Keiko with her outside as she went to make dinner. "I think you'll have enough on your plate with that alone."

Motoko sighed, the smiled wearily. "You're probably right..."

+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+

More time passed, the winter melding into spring, which then unfolded into summer. May found Motoko up to her elbows in dirty diapers, PTA meetings, playing with the kids, and keeping the Inn together. With only the six of them living there now, it was more empty than ever and often times when the kendo woman was alone completing one task or another she'd wish for the days when you could hear Su-chan's laughter echoing down the halls, Shinobu's quiet singing as she cooked dinner, Naru's sweet greetings to the rest of the tenants or even Keitaro's screams as Naru gave him a one way ticket to the stratosphere for being a pervert. Not that she could remember the last time that had happened since Keitaro had proposed to her, his inherit clumsiness had partially faded sometime around then. Partially being the operative, there. 

Motoko sat in the main room shuffling through the main as she usually did right about then, Keiko lying on the floor chewing on her fingers happily as Muchiko -who was there for the summer- and Sizu ran around in the back with Alicia. Shinji would be arriving home any moment with Haruka, his last day of school ending for the year. The front door opened just as she checked the clock, figuring it was about time.

"Shinji-kun! How was your last day of school?"

"Why don't you ask him when he gets home, Motoko-chan?" another voice replied behind her as someone glomped on her from behind.

"Su-chan!" Motoko was up on her feet in an instant, the young foreign woman wrapping herself firmly about her trunk. "Ack...! It's good to see you too, Su-chan."

"Motoko-san!" The kendo woman found herself tackled by another set of arms as the normally quiet and reserved Shinobu threw her arms around Motoko's neck as well and buried her face in her shoulder.

"It's so good to see both of you," sighed Motoko as she hugged them both, the pulled them from her gently so she could inspect them. Su was the same as ever, with her white-blonde hair tied back from her face and wearing the short skirts and white shirts she liked so much. Shinobu had matured some, though, and while there was still an air of childish innocence about her she seemed to have gained some wisdom and spine from her travel overseas. "I trust you are both well?"

"Very," replied Shinobu with a smile that faltered slightly. "Well...we're fine, yes, but...we wanted to ask for a favor...?"

"To see Naru's grave," added Su in an unusually soft voice, bowing her head slightly.

"We do wish we could have come sooner..."

"Your studies were more important at the time, as Naru-san would have said herself," insisted Motoko as she scooped up Keiko then called to Alicia that she'd be gone for awhile and was taking Keiko with her. "Come, we'll go now while it's still light outside.

"Who was that?" asked Su as they walked along together, Shinobu holding Keiko and cooing over how much she'd grown since the last time she'd seen her.

"Alicia-san, a new tenant from America," explained Motoko as she led them around a corner, the temple and graveyard coming into view. "She's been taking over Shinobu's duties while you both were gone."

"Is she a student or something?"

"I don't know," admitted Motoko with a shrug. "She claims to be a student at an Academy for the Blind, but she keeps her own counsel, and seeing as the meals always arrive on time no one seems to mind."

"Do you think she'd mind if I took a few meals every now and then?" asked Shinobu timidly. "I mean, it is her choice since she is the new cook..."

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Motoko assured her with a shake of her head. "Alicia-san is very understanding, and will probably be more than happy to split the work with you. Perhaps you could even teach each other something new, right?"

"I never thought of that..." Shinobu considered her words while Su began to talk about the intricate details of her latest project: The Ultimate Mecha Tama 6000! While she was lost for the most part, Motoko nodded politely at intervals and paid as close attention as she could, though in the end she knew even less than she had in the beginning. 

Together, they walked up the steps of the temple and then around the back, standing before Naru's grave as Shinobu and Su were given time to shed the last of their tears at her final resting place.

"I can't believe she won't be there tonight when we sit down for dinner," murmured Shinobu as she leaned against Motoko, the kendo woman offering what comfort she could.

"Or Keitaro," added Su, who had been extremely disappointed when the news of his disappearance came through. "It will be so quiet without the two of them around. Are you sure you don't want me to try and track him down, Motoko-chan?"

Motoko shook her head, turning away from them both as she began to walk back towards the front of the temple. "He...Urashima-san will return when he's ready. The only thing we can do is wait."

"But all those times before...he needed to be dragged back!"

"Those times were things of his own doing, failings he could have possibly prevented. Now..." Motoko paused, and glanced back at Naru's grave, a single tear falling down her face. "None of this was his fault, and if he feels he needs time apart from us to deal with it, I shall, for once, grant it to him."

Shinobu sighed, bowing once more to the grave before she walked towards the front as well. "I miss them both."

Su bowed as well before joining them sadly. "I do too." She leaned on Motoko, who'd taken Keiko from Shinobu. "Are you sure Keitaro-san will return someday?"

"Has Urashima-san ever broken a promise before?" asked Motoko slowly.

"No..."

"Then I do not believe he will start now. Urashima-san will return again someday."

"When do you think it will be?" asked Shinobu as they headed back towards the house.

"I don't know," admitted Motoko as she resettled the now napping babe in her arms and looked up to the sky. "That is something only time will tell."

:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:-@-:

*Somewhere in an Island near Australia*

Keitaro looked at the sky as he took a pause from his work, an overwhelming sense of sorrow and self-loathing taking hold of him for a moment.

"Naru-san....Motoko-san....gomen, for now I've failed you both..."

~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~&~*~

And there's the second part. A little sad, like the last one. The third one will be less angst-centered. That I promise. I know a few characters might seem slightly OCC, give me an idea on how near/far I am from getting it right, this is my one and only Love Hina fic after all. Please review, it's the kind thing to do!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


	3. New Beginning

It's the third and final segment of this lovely little trio. Hope you liked it thus far, and please enjoy this final installment as well. 

Disclaimer: While I've managed it settle my debt to only being $900 in the hole, suing me is useless considering you might get an old band t-shirt and a broken shoelace at best. I own nothing except those characters which I create. 

~CB~

A New Beginning

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"Shinji-kun!! Get up, you're going to be late again!!" The young boy tumbled out of bed, quickly pulling on jeans and a shirt before combing his hair and heading for the door at a run.

"Gomen, obassan," he said quickly as he gave Motoko a kiss on the cheek while grabbing his lunch and bag on the way out the door. Even though he was only ten, he was now tall enough that he could  do so without jumping in the air a few inches. "I'll be home after school!!"

"If he doesn't get detention for being late, that is," added Kitsune as she came in with Keiko on her back, the three year old babbling happily as she waved at everyone around her.

"Considering he's one of the top runners at his school, if he tries hard enough he'll make it," replied Motoko with a grin. "I vaguely remember Keitaro being that fast, though his was more from running away from us being a pervert, not because he practiced regularly to make the Track team."

"Different motives, same result," commented Kitsune as she placed the toddler on the floor and watched her crawl around before pulling herself up on a table and tottering unsteadily on her feet around the room. "Motoko...she's doing it again."

"Hm?" Motoko turned around, smiling gently as she saw Keiko walk over to her with her arms stretched out. "Keiko-chan is such a big girl, isn't she? Yes she is. Come here, you!" She swung the child up in her arms and onto her shoulder, Keiko laughing happily all the while.

"Hehahah!! Mama!! More mama!!!"

"Not mama," Motoko corrected her as she put her back down and went to help Sizu tie her shoes by the door. "Obassan. Can you say it? O-ba-ssan."

"Mama!"

"No, obassan, Keiko. Not mama."

"...oba-mama?"

Motoko sighed as Kitsune laughed behind her hand, Keiko's interest suddenly being captivated by the fly that buzzed by her head as she reached for it clumsily. 

"I think you're going to have to work on that one some more," suggested Kitsune as she tried not to break down laughing while walking out of the room.

"Bye, Obassan," said Sizu as she gave Motoko a kiss as well, Alicia appearing at her side with the usual shades and jean jacket for their walk to school. 

"Bye, honey. Be good and listen to your teachers," cautioned Motoko as she kissed her back, smiling at her as well. "Alicia-san will pick you up again, ok? I have to take Keiko for her check-up."

"Hai, obassan!" Sizu waved as Alicia took her hand and they walked down the steps of the Inn together towards the school.

"Mama," whispered Keiko, tugging on Motoko's long skirt with her eyes wide with innocence. "Noodles?"

"You just had breakfast, though," replied Motoko as she picked the little girl up easily. "Hungry?"

"Yup."

"Alright..."

"Arigato, Mama!"

Motoko tickled the girl with a teasing smile. "I'm not your mama..."

"I don't understand why you don't let her call you that," commented Kitsune as she sipped her morning glass of wine while reading the paper. "You're the closest thing she's had to one since Naru died." Though her heart ached slightly at mentioning her deceased friend's name, time had finally given her the ability to mention it without her heart going to pieces or the need to cry later in private. "It's not like her father's around anymore to take care of her either, or to mind if she calls you Mama," added Kitsune a little bitterly, her lips twisting into a frown.

"Kitsune-san! Don't say that," chided Motoko as she placed Keiko in her highchair and brought over a small portion of the breakfast noodles in a bowl. A bib went around Keiko's neck, then she was set loose on the food which mainly ended up on her or the floor rather than in her mouth. "Kei-...Urashima-san will come home someday."

"You've been saying that for three years, Motoko," snapped Kitsune, laying down the paper abruptly. "A few months, and I would have understood it. A year, which is stretching it, maybe. After two years, forgive me but I've given up hope that the coward is coming back at all. Chances are, you are going to be Keiko's Mama until she turns 18, so you might as well get used to her calling you it."

"For all you know, Urashima-san has another wife already, and is just waiting for the right time to return," retorted Motoko, Keiko ignoring their argument with the usual 3 year old bliss. "Which means Keiko-chan already has another mother, and doesn't need me to interfere  with it. Urashima-san loves his children, and he will come back for them someday"

"He doesn't care about any of us!" exploded Kitsune, rising suddenly. "What do we have to show for these last three years from him?! A few yen every few months, a card on the kids birthdays, and your promise to them that he will come back! He's not going to return, Motoko!" At this tears began to fall down Kitsune's face, ones that represented the resentment and anger she held inside. "He was always the one constant we could depend on in our lives, but he betrayed us by running away. Why don't you just give it up?!!"

"Because." Motoko held out her arms to the sobbing woman, a small corner of her mind noting how much she'd changed in the last three years. "I have no choice. For Keiko, for Shinji, for Sizu, and most of all for Naru...for them, I'll never give up hope."

"You're a stubborn fool," snapped Kitsune, wiping her tears on her sleeve as she leaned against Motoko, the kendo woman just letting her finish releasing her emotions and being a comforting presence at the same time. 

"Perhaps." Motoko smiled wryly at this. "But who's the true fool, the one who's stubborn or the one who believes in them in the end?"

"I don't know." Kitsune shook her head and pulled away, grabbing a tissue to blow her nose with. "You're right, as usual, though. I just...he should have been back by now, shouldn't he?"

Motoko shrugged. "Who knows? That is not for me to decide, Kitsune. All I do know is Hinata-sou and his three younglings will be waiting for him when he returns."

"Hai..." Kitsune looked at her reflection in the sink and grimaced. "Eh...I'm going to go wash up and then get to the Tea House. Haruka will kill me if I'm late again, and looking like this." She shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom down the hall.

"Morning, Motoko-chan!" cried Su as she skipped into the kitchen, grabbing a banana and sitting on the counter to eat it. Even though she was always in her adult form now, she had an air of childishness about her that she wouldn't be Su without. 

"Good morning, Su-chan." Motoko turned and looked at Keiko, who's noodles were gone. Well, at least gone from her bowl, several had ended up in her hair and on the floor as a result of her messy eating habits. "Ai, Kei-chan! So messy...let's go get you all cleaned up." She lifted her out of her highchair and headed for the hot springs, nodding to Shinobu who was entering the kitchen on her way out. Motoko, as she bathed the squirming Keiko in the warm water, used the time to reflect as she usually did since she had so little time to herself anymore.

So much had changed in just three years.  Shinji was growing up so fast, and while he didn't have a male influence at home he seemed to be coping alright with Motoko and the rest raising him. It's not like he'd been allowed to grow into a spoiled mama's boy, her and Haruka had seen to that. But still, she wished his father had been around for those big times in his life; like when he won his first race or placed in the school spelling bee. 

Sizu, well, while she wasn't as academically bright as her brother, nor as athletically inclined, she was growing up to be quite the artist and had paintings and drawings that covered the walls of her room and the refrigerator. Several of the teachers at her school had commented on her ability, and some had recommended private schools she might want to attend in the next few years to further her abilities. Had Motoko the money, she would have started her there now, but funds were rather tight and they could hardly afford to send them to the school they were at as is. 

Keiko had grown so much as well, her fourth birthday only a few months away and Kitsune and Shinobu planning on making it something special. She'd learned to talk rather quickly, it seemed, and most of the time babbled on and on about the things she'd seen that day. Though she was slightly too much like her mother for her own good. While Naru-Super punch had been perfectly alright on Keitaro when he was being a pervert, it was not acceptable on small boys who stole her toys and she couldn't go to the local daycare as a result of it. Seeing as she'd never seen her real mother do it in the first place, Motoko wondered just how she'd learned it but decided it must be an inborn trait in the Narusegawa line. 

Shinobu and Su had both returned after their second year in America, the little chef with a Master in Culinary Arts and Su with a Doctorate in Mechanics and Technology. Su had signed in since then with a Japanese toy company and was now their top toy designer, creating and building some of the most innovative toys the corporation had ever put on the market. Shinobu had gotten a job had one of the top restaurants in Tokyo and was saving up for one of her own, which she planned on opening as soon as she had the money.

Kitsune had persuaded Haruka to make her a partner in the Tea House and now often as not ran it while Haruka went away on trips of her own. She now had an entire wine rack covering one wall and had become more of a connoisseur rather than an alcoholic, drinking sake and wine more for the pleasure of its taste rather than the pleasure of being out of control. Not that she didn't get plastered every once in awhile, but those times were becoming few and far in between. 

Alicia was still hanging around, though she'd supposedly graduated years ago, and worked random jobs that seemed to change from week to week. Shinobu she let take over the meals mainly, and paid full rent on her own, but even Motoko had to wonder just what the girl did in her spare time as she disappeared and reappeared at random intervals of time.

And then herself...she hated to admit it, but raising little Keiko and the other two had brought out feelings in her that she thought she'd never need or use. To think such a small, priceless creature depended on her to live...it made her want to be the best guardian she could be, right down to wearing skirts and blouses when she went into the schools so she looked like all the other moms there. Not that she minded so much, if she wore a full one it gave her almost the same amount of movement as her kendo outfit. And Haruka had said many times that she looked much better in the older style of clothes rather than the new flashy stuff. She even had a few kimonos that she pulled out on the occasion, but most were of fancy silks and she only wore those for special events. Her sword skills were as sharp as ever, though, and while she hadn't made much progress that which she did know had been honed down to perfection. 

Keiko showed Motoko her pruning fingers and indicated she wanted to get out, the kendo woman complying quickly as she dried and dressed them both before heading out to the main room of the Inn to begin the daily chores while Shinobu or Su watched Keiko for her. She'd reminisce over the last few years later, right now she needed to get to work!

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Kitsune and Alicia chased the three children around the back yard, Su off to the side under some new contraption of hers. Set up on some concrete blocks, she kept her goggles over her eyes as she used the blowtorch while she called commands to the young man who sat on the top programming the controls with his computer. With the same blonde-white hair, green eyes, and extremely tan skin, he could have passed as Su's twin. Luckily, he was only her third cousin twice removed, as well as one of her helpers who worked for the company as well when building things. The man was a computer genius. 

"Extent of configuration so far?"

"Nearly to 100%. Just give me a minute here, cousin." 

"Don't call me that, Lou-kun." She paused and stuck her tongue out at him. "It's just Su-chan."

He smirked. "Whatever you say, cousin." He pushed a few more buttons before closing the laptop and swinging down beside her, a pair of pliers and screwdriver in hand. "Now what's bugging you?"

"This little bit right here...what do you think?"

"Reroute it or redo it all so you don't have such a tangle right there. It's up to you, though you might not have a choice if you've got a deadline with this one..."

"Nope. Go get some paper and redo it all. I'll get to work hooking up the steering and boosters."

"Ok!" He got back up and grabbed some sheets from a notebook, soon completely absorbed in the detailed drawings. "Hm...I might have something here!"

"Alright, just a sec..."

Motoko stood on the roof and watched everything below her with a soft smile, her kendo outfit on and sword at her side as she resumed training once more. She badly needed to take another training trip to the mountains where she could hone her techniques in the silence of the wilderness, but with school drawing to a close and Keiko's birthday so close...she would wait until all the festivities were over before she took such time for herself. Besides, there was always the usual trip the beach Tea House and she wanted to be sure not to miss that.

"Motoko-san, could you come help with dinner, please?" asked Shinobu from the doorway to the roof. "I know you're busy, but we have so many guests tonight..."

"Guests?" Motoko paused, giving Shinobu a confused look. "I knew Lou-san might be staying for supper, but who else is here??"

"Kitsune has two of her friends in the house sampling some of her wine downstairs," explained Shinobu as she ticked them off on her hands. 

"Jacque and his sister Marie, the French twins?"

"Hai, and Haruka-san invited Seta-san and Sarah-chan over for dinner. Including us, that makes 13, I think. For that many, I could use an extra set of hands...?"

"Certainly." Motoko followed the younger woman down the stairs to the kitchen and began the necessary steps to prepare a meal, one that would be enough to feed the hungry crew that was with them.

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Alicia sipped her wine delicately as she listened to the conversation around her, staying silent as usual unless asked something directly that she could answer. Kitsune was tittering away with her friends about their latest rare wine find, a red something or other from the 1920's. Shinobu was talking animatedly with Su and Lou about an invention of theirs that she could program directions into and it would do the cooking for her. Keiko was stuffing as many handfuls of rice as would fit in her mouth, and Shinji and Sizu would comparing ideas for what to do that summer. And Sarah, who was 20 at this point, and had finally decided to grow up, was holding an actual conversation with Seta, Haruka, and Motoko on Seta's latest finds at the 'Night Walker's' site. Not much more had been found, but there had been the occasional artifact uncovered that kept them looking for more.

"By the way," said Seta out of the blue as he gulped down the last of his tea and gave them all his usual careless grin. "Where is Keitaro-kun? I would have thought he was here by now."

The room went deathly silent, Shinji and Sizu turning immediately to look at Motoko who had gone more white than usual. 

"You mean," she said in a soft whisper. "He's not with you anymore?"

"He quit over a year ago," replied Seta, his face slowly becoming less and less careless, and more worried. "I argued against it, believe me, he was the best helper I'd ever had! But still, he insisted it was time. Keitaro said he had one final stop to make, and then he was coming home. Do you mean he hasn't shown up yet?"

"Obassan, what's he talking about?" asked Shinji quietly, his eyes brimming with tears. "Where's otosan??"

Sizu let a few tears slide down her cheeks as she jumped out of her seat and came to cling to Motoko's side. "I want papa, obassan!! Where is he?? Doesn't he love us too??"

"Shh..." Motoko rose and picked up the little girl, taking Keiko as well and Shinji following close behind. 

"Gomen," sighed Seta. "I...after he left, he seemed so sure of himself...I was sure he'd come straight here and never asked him where his stop was..." He rose to his feet and bowed, Sarah rising as well. "I think I've caused enough trouble for tonight. Goodnight Haruka-san, everyone. Arigato for the meal." He then left, Sarah close behind with an unusually sober look on her face.

Haruka stood and went after them, already reaching for the cigarettes in her pocket. "I'll walk them out..."

"I think it's time for us to leave as well," added Jacque as he rose quickly, Marie standing as well before they bowed as one. "Arigato, Shinobu-san. The food was excellent."

"Hai, arigato," his sister repeated.

"I'll do the dishes," offered Kitsune as Su and Lou drifted from the room back to their project where they continued to work on it in a subdued manner, the rest of the household going about their business as well. 

"Kitsune-san?" asked Shinobu in a sad voice, her calm exterior on the brink of breaking. 

Kitsune turned from the sink slightly, a dish and soap in hand. "Hai, Shinobu-chan?"

"Do you think....has sempai abandoned us?"

Kitsune sighed and bowed her head, forcing the tears that welled up in her eyes not to come. "I hope not, Shinobu. For the kids, all of us, and even just Motoko's sake, I hope not..." She sniffed lightly. "Motoko-chan always kept saying he'd return someday, that he would come back to us...but now...I don't know what to think anymore."

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Motoko sat beside her bed and the three little bodies that had insisted upon invading it for the night, Shinji and Sizu on the outside with little Keiko all curled up in the middle. She was still fully clothed with her sword at her side, sitting cross-legged with her elbows on her knees and her hands clasped in the middle where her chin rested lightly. Moonlight streamed around her, giving it a surreal feel, but the tear tracks down all three faces were very real indeed and it had taken hours to reassure the children that their father would still return someday. But even Motoko had begun to doubt her own words, for if Keitaro had finished his work, then where was he now? Maybe Kitsune had been right, maybe he had abandoned them...

Time passed as she sat there in meditation, the old grandfather clock down stairs striking two when she felt a slight tremor pass through the house that rose her from her light trance. Standing silently, she checked on the sleeping children one last time before she noiselessly glided out into the hall, checking each room with the same soundless caution as she went. Her sharpened senses picked up on what had woken her the first time, a slight patter of footsteps that came from the downstairs It wasn't any of the girls in the house, they were too heavy, and Seta-san had left a while ago...

Slowly walking along the hallway, she came to the stairs and swiftly went down them while drawing her katana at the same time. Reaching the bottom step, she was about to head towards the front where she'd originally heard the noise when she saw a shadow in the kitchen, and then the definite outline of someone whom she did not recognize...

"HIKEN ZANKUUSEN!!" she cried, letting the ki blast fly in a fit of anger that someone would dare to enter their home without permission. The figure was caught unawares and sent flying into the wall, Motoko then approaching cautiously with the tip of her sword still pointed at whoever it was as the dust slowly began to settle. He sat up slowly, coughing to clear his lungs of the dust and wiping his eyes at the same time. 

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, the light from the moon hitting her from the window above his head, giving her the look of a wrathful angel.

"I...uh...gomen." He stood up slowly, dusting off his worn jeans and buttoned down shirt as he did. He reached over and flicked on the light, Motoko's katana staying up all the while. "Long time no see, eh Motoko-san?"

She let the katana drop in surprise, frozen where she stood as she visually took him in. Those green eyes...even if they were now covered by contacts and not glasses, that goofy smile even if it was to a tanner, more weathered face, even just the way he stood even though he'd obviously gained some muscle with time. "...Kei-...Urashima?"

"PAPA!!" Sizu jumped unexpectedly from the top of the stairs, Keitaro catching her skillfully and enveloping her in a huge hug as Shinji appeared at the top of the stairs, sliding down the rail before throwing himself at his father. 

"Otosan!"

"...papa?" Keiko stood sleepily at the top of the stairs, Keitaro swinging Shinji on his back so he could carry them both up the steps, jumping three at a time, to pick Keiko as well and smother them all in one big hug. He then walked back down, a huge grin on his face the whole way. The fact was not lost on Motoko that he carried them all rather easily as well, something the Keitaro of old would never have been able to do.

"I'm home," he assured them as he practically radiated his love for them with is smile alone. "I missed you all so much...!!"

"I knew you'd come home," whispered Sizu, wiping away her tears on his shirt with a huge smile. "Obassan, you were right!"

"I'm always right," replied Motoko, giving her a gentle smile, though her face took on a distracted look as the other residents of Hinata-sou began to rise from their sleep because of the commotion on the stairs. 

"Keitaro-kun!" cried Su as she glomped on him as well, the kids making room for her in the hug. 

"Su-chan! You haven't change a bit!" Su paused and felt his arms with a smile. 

"Ooh! You have though. Looks like you got some muscle there, Keitaro-kun!" She winked at him, then let go so the others could greet him as well.

Keitaro shrugged humbly. "Oh, just a little. Oh, and this is for you!" He pulled out a bag of banana lollipops, which she grabbed and thanked him happily.

"We were afraid you'd never come back, sugar," teased Kitsune, forgiving him immediately as he pulled out a bottle of sake and handed it to her. Giving him a hug, she took her new prize and disappeared into her room with it.

"Sempai!" Shinobu gave him an excited hug, drawing back with a blush a few moments later. "We're glad you're back, sempai!"

"I'm glad to be back, Shinobu-chan," he replied enthusiastically, bringing out a cute little Chinese umbrella. "Here."

"Oh, thank you sempai!"

"What did you bring for us, otosan??" asked Shinji as he tugged on Keitaro's shirt, Sizu looking at him with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

"Want presents!" added Keiko with a huge smile. 

"Okay, okay..." He pulled out a hand made doll for Keiko, a beautiful fan for Sizu, and a wooden boomerang for Shinji. "Here ya go, kids!"

"Arigato, otosan!!"

"Pretty!!"

"Awigato!"

"You're welcome, guys." He gave them another round of hugs and kisses, letting them hang on his legs and arms even though it hurt his back because he missed them so much.

"It is good to see you back, Urashima-san," commented Alicia from beside the stairs, one of the few who were fully dressed and not in a bathrobe. She bowed and he bowed back, bringing a richly carved cane from behind his back and placing it in her hands.

"It is good to see you're still with us, Alicia-san," replied Keitaro as she examined it with her hands. "A little something I hope you'll accept for your time as our chef."

"I accept it, arigato." She bowed slightly and smiled at him, waving goodnight to the rest before she tried out her new cane on the way back to her room.

Keitaro turned and looked at Motoko, the last adult still left with him downstairs. "Eh...Motoko-san...?"

"Welcome back," she said abruptly, bowing to him before she gathered Keiko -who was sitting at her feet with the doll- up in her arms and headed up the stairs. "Shinji, Sizu, it's time for bed. You can spend some more time with your father when you get home from school tomorrow." They immediately stood and followed her after giving Keitaro a kiss goodnight.

"Hai, Obassan. Goodnight otosan."

"Coming. Nite papa."

"Goodnight, Sizu-chan, Shinji-kun, Keiko-chan..." He watched as they disappeared upstairs, leaving him alone to go and sleep in his room. His room. Those two words sounded so strange after being away for so long...but finally, he was home.

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Motoko sat at the kitchen table with the book of the Inn's finances in front of her, trying to find some day she could take just a few more yen off of one or other of the budgets without cutting things too close and still making the bills on time. Perhaps she could take out half the landscaping budget, cancel the usual help that came in, and find time to prune and cut everything herself...Shinji and Sizu had gone off to school long ago, and Su had borrowed Keiko to go and test some toddler's toys for the company she worked for, so she had the entire house to herself for once. 

Hearing the floorboards creak outside in the main hall reminded her that it was not entirely empty after all.

_Keitaro..._

His name reverberated in her mind, making it hard to concentrate for a second before she shoved it out of her head entirely and got back to work. The door to the kitchen opened and she glanced up, seeing Keitaro stride in confidently and get right to work on making himself a pot of coffee. Something was different about him, though she couldn't quite figure out what. All she knew was it was the same something that had thrown her off balance last night and made her so short with him.

Then again, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about his return period. A quick check of his left hand showed he hadn't gotten married again, a wave of relief washing over her for some reason. Or at least she hoped he hadn't, so hopefully she'd still be needed to stay and take care of the kids. But what if he asked her to leave? Or was merely waiting until an appropriate time to tell them the good news? A wave of sadness washed over her, for she'd grown to love the three younglings very much...

Then there was the anger for him staying away to so long, the relief that he was alright and safe with them once more. Sadness that things had changed, joy that he had found himself again and apparently had worked himself through his grief, and other things too complex to even begin to explain...

"Hello in there..." Motoko snapped back to the present as Keitaro waved a hand in front of her face, a teasing smile on his face. "You home, Motoko-san?"

"Eh...gomen." She felt her face redden, then regained her composure and watched with a grimace as he drank his coffee black. He must have noticed for he cracked a wry grin and sat across from her at the table.

"Old habits die hard," he explained with a shrug. "Seta-san never had enough sugar to go around the crew, so coffee was drunk plain. I guess I just never considered switching back even after I left..."

"You'd think in over a year you would have managed to do so," added Motoko in a low voice before she could stop herself. Turning away, she went back to work as she felt him freeze across from him.

"...then...he told you?" asked Keitaro sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he tensed for the blast of ki that was sure to come. He was shocked when none did arrive, Motoko merely leveled a look at him that made him wish she had blasted him into the sky rather than look at him with such hurt and mistrust in her eyes. 

"He wanted to know if you'd made it back," replied Motoko coolly. "Imagine his and our surprise when no one seems to know where you've been since last year."

"I...let me start from the beginning." Keitaro took another sip of his coffee, a new confidences radiating from him that Motoko had never felt before. "The first year or so I spent burying everything I felt and burying myself in the mounds of work Seta-san provided for me. I made a lot for what I did because I did it well, and all was well on the outside. But on the inside, it was eating me alive. I was a sad, sorry, mess Motoko, and I ended up collapsing a few times from the pressure of it all. Needless to say, that didn't go over very well with Seta-san."

"So, after nearly working myself to death and some strict orders from Seta to pull myself together or get out, I was forced to face it and deal with it head on. Naru's dead, and she's not coming back. Though I still miss her, it's not the same intense sorrow it once was and I know I will go on with my life. Also, I have a responsibility to be here for my children and to find another wife to help me raise them. They deserve at least that much from me. Seta-san helped me rid myself of the negative emotions I still carried by teaching me much of what he knows of fighting, which was no small feat, let me tell you. So, after the second year I packed up and left, telling Seta-san I would be going home soon and setting off for Tokyo I swore I was going to find the perfect wife for me and my family and bring her home with me. I was so sure of myself that I kind of forgot to figure time into the matter..." 

Motoko felt him pause, and looked up to see him blushing horribly. "So?"

"Needless to say...I failed. There was no one there I could find that I loved. And I realized after awhile that I was looking in the wrong place, too. So, after year of searching and failing here I am, waiting to see what's going to happen next and willing to take up what I left behind once." Keitaro reached over and touched Motoko's hand, an ashamed look on his face. "Gomen for dumping that load on you, Motoko-san. It was unfair of me, and I should never have run off like I did..."

"It was nothing between friends," replied Motoko, drawing quickly away from his touch and turning to go out the door. "I have other things to attend to, Urashima-san. Excuse me."

Keitaro watched her leave, a sad look in his eyes that could not be hidden even by his new contacts. "Motoko-san..." His eyes did fall on the book that she'd left behind, spinning it around quickly as he recognized what it was. He whistled low to him as he realized just what sort of state he'd left the place in and felt even more guilty than ever, reaching for his check book as he began to figure in how his saved fortune could better help the Inn and it's occupants. "At least I'm not entirely useless..."

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Alicia found Motoko meditating on the roof above the backyard, seemingly watching as Keitaro played with Shinji, Sizu, and Keiko. Su and Lou, who had met Keitaro earlier that evening, still had their project set up in one corner and working away at it vigorously with the occasion shout of triumph and minor explosion of failure.

"You are distracted, Motoko-san," murmured Alicia as she settled herself beside the kendo woman, the richly carved cane she'd received lying across her knees. Some how, though just how Motoko wasn't sure, the young woman practically radiated her trustworthiness as she had the first night Motoko had cried upon her shoulder. She realized for the first time just how much she relied upon the young woman as a friend whom she could talk to as an objective view. 

"You're right, I am," admitted Motoko with a sigh. "I suppose I should be grateful that he's back, I no longer have to take care of Hinata-sou, and soon all my duties will once more be his and I can concentrate solely upon perfecting my school of sword ...but, I'm not."

"You changed with the life that was dealt to you and you accepted," explained Alicia slowly with a shrug. "It was stable. Now, another factor has been added in, namely Keitaro-san's return, and now things are less than stable. Where things will settle out has yet to be determined. And while that would have at one time not bothered you, now it does because of the fact that you've changed."

"I suppose you're right," replied Motoko demurely. "But also, Kei-...Urashima-san has returned as well. Were he the same, I don't think I would fear how things will turn out as much. Now...it's like he finally decided to grow up. Naru and he never changed from the time I met them until her death. Within their perfect world, they didn't need to. Perhaps with his loss he finally matured into the man he is now."

The fact that Motoko kept refusing to call Keitaro his first name was not lost on the blind woman. "You never saw him as a man before?"

"He never presented himself as anything more than an older boy with much to learn." Motoko shrugged indifferently. 

"Oh." Alicia considered her words, then asked, "Why do you continue to address Keitaro-san as Urashima-san? Formality is something he generally discourages, ne? And it seems you have been friends for years, so why are you so formal with him?"

"I don't know," replied Motoko, biting her lip as she settled her chin on the palm of her hand. "I guess...it's just easier that way."

"Easier how?" Alicia's lips curled into a slight smile. "Easier to keep him at arms length that way? Easier to admit something about him? Or just easier to accept the change in him?"

"I don't know!" Motoko stood swiftly and turned away from the scene below her, tucking her hands into her sleeves reflexively. "That's what bothers me the most. I'm 30 years old. I am the head of my Clan. I have mastered every technique it has ever used within it's school of weaponry. I have perfect control over my body and mind, yet...I don't know my own heart."

"Perhaps you should go talk to Keitaro, and listen to his," suggested Alicia as she walked back towards the door to the inside. "You might learn something."

"What you do-?" Motoko turned around to find herself alone, sighing as she ran a hand distractedly through her hair. She turned and walked back to the edge of the roof, watching Keitaro gallop across the yard with Keiko on his back and Shinji and Sizu hot on his trail. "Why...?" She sat and meditated again, her mind beginning to wander back in time through the path of memories of that which once was. There he was in her mind's eye the first time she'd laid eyes on him staring up at her from the ground, his friends having left him to whatever punishment they should have been inflicted with. Reflecting back on it, she admitted Keitaro had done nothing wrong, and if anything had deserved the right to walk on without being blasted, he had apologized for his friend's behavior, after all...

And then there were all those other times he'd earned her respect as well, and she'd only blasted him around as Naru had done. Rationalizing that she was only following her friend's lead as a lie, one she wouldn't even bother trying to use. She'd always seen him as an older boy, or just barely a young man whom was too clumsy and perverted for his own good. Quite honestly, though, she could remember several times he'd acted with far more maturity than she had and she'd held herself in higher regard that she'd deserved at the time. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black...

Another face suddenly appeared inches in front of hers, a hand waving in front of her eyes. "Anyone home?"

"Eh?!" Motoko scrambled backwards, her heart going a million miles a second as she took in Keitaro perfectly balanced on the railing of the roof where she'd been sitting only a moment ago, a sheepish grin on his face.

"Heh...um, gomen, Motoko-san...I didn't mean to scare you really..." He then tensed up as if expecting a blow of sorts. When nothing came, he looked up slowly and saw Motoko had risen to her feet and was dusting herself off, the sword still in its sheath on her back. A faint blush graced her cheeks, though her face remained as calm as ever as she straightened her clothes. What he could see was her heart going a million miles a minute just from being as close to him as she had been.

"It's alright," she replied after a few moments of silence, a thoughtful look coming on her face. "What do you want, Urashima-san?"

"Dinner was awhile ago, and some of the girls were getting worried when you didn't show. Alicia-san sent me to check on you...are you sure you're not mad for being disturbed? Gomen, it looked like you were really concentrating on something."

"Hai, it is fine," Motoko assured him lightly with a slight nod. She glanced at the sun and realized many hours had passed since she'd last talked to Alicia. "Though, one has to wonder...how did you manage to sneak up on me like that?"

"Seta-san." Keitaro jumped off the rail and stood up, spreading his hands wide. "That was one of the things he taught me while I was with him. It's amazing all the stuff he knows..."

"You said he taught you to fight, didn't you?" asked Motoko as she began to remove her sword from her back and set it to the side. 

"Hai..." Keitaro gulped, becoming increasingly nervous. "Why do you ask, Motoko-san?"

"Face me, then." She assumed the position she'd learned from the judo master down the street, combined with a little of her sword stance as well. "I wish to see what you've learned."

The color drained from Keitaro's face, though he obediently assumed the stance Seta had taught him, which was lose and free of actual structure. "If you want..."

Motoko paused, a sly grin curving her lips. "Scared, Urashima?"

"No..." He paused, then solidified himself. "Let's go! HA!" He jumped up and swung around in midair, fly at her with a well-timed round house kick. She jumped over his attack and drove her hands towards his head. He caught them and used it to spring her over his head, turning quickly and hoping to catch her off guard as she landed in a crouch once more. They battled lightly back and forth, moving back and forth along the roof with neither one giving or taking any ground.

"What do you think?" asked Keitaro as he backed of slightly, a silly grin much like Seta's on his face.

"I think you have yet to prove yourself in some areas," admitted Motoko with a shrug as she suddenly back flipped off the roof, landing on the fence that surrounded the hot springs. No one else was back there taking a bath, so it mattered not. Keitaro ran to the edge of the roof and sweated nervously, Motoko watching him expectantly below. "Something wrong, Urashima-san?" Her lips curved again. "Should I get down and get some tea while I wait for you to take the stairs?"

"Ah...no!" Keitaro jumped after a slight hesitation, using the tree in between them as a halfway point to push off of before he landed across from her on the fence. "Let's go!"

Motoko smiled, something she normally didn't do while in a fight. "Hai. Prepare your-AII!!" The fight was cut short as the fence suddenly fell over, two forms coming from the holes that had suddenly appeared at the base of it. Both fighter's cries of surprise were cut off as they landed in the hot springs, their clothes quickly saturating themselves with water and weighting them down. 

Keitaro sputtered to the surface first, coughing as he cleared his lungs and wiped his eyes gingerly so his contacts wouldn't fall out. "Ah...*cougcough*...what in the world? Motoko-san??" He turned around, seeing only a few bubbles coming from where she'd landed. "Motoko-san!"

She burst from under the water gasping for air, coughing violently as she wiped the water from her eyes and struggled to stand upright. Her hands encountered something with a shell and four flippers on top of her head, her bringing it down to her face only to toss it as far way as it would go while backing into Keitaro's arms without realizing it. "Ack!! EVIL TUR-...SHELLED REPTILE!!" 

Keitaro instinctively put them around her waist, ignoring the two people who were discussing lightly where their digging had gone wrong. Tama-chan, who had mysteriously returned out of nowhere, just myued at Motoko teasingly and flew towards the back of Hinata-sou. 

Keitaro and Motoko both froze as soon as the turtle was out of sight. Keitaro loosened his hold and backed off, coming around in front of her instead. "Gomen, Motoko-san," he said sincerely, running a hand through his sopping wet hair. "Are you alright? I...ah..." He turned around quickly, his eyes having stayed on her face the whole time until just then.

Glancing down, she turned away from him as well as she saw her chest bindings had come undone, probably from the water they'd absorbed and her wild thrashing to get away from the cursed...reptile. Binding them back up as best she could, she closed the top of her gi as far as it would go, holding it there with her hands. "Ah...it's alright, it wasn't your fault..." She turned towards what was left of the fence, seeing Sarah and Seta standing there with a map between them dressed in  miner's clothes with hardhats and spades. "Seta-san?! Sarah-chan?! What are you doing here?!"

"Oh, Motoko-san!" Seta greeted her cheerfully with a wave. "Sorry if you were on the fence. Looks like you took a bit of a swim..." He glanced over at Keitaro, who had cautiously turned back around when he hadn't gone flying into the stratosphere. "Anywho, we're following this map, see? Guess we took a wrong turn somewhere along the line, though, gomen! We'll get this fixed for you."

"Kei-kun!" Everyone looked in the direction Tama-chan had disappeared, Mutsumi running from there with Tama-chan right behind her. "Are you alright, Kei-kun??" Motoko instinctively backed up again, but this time made sure it wasn't towards Keitaro. Reaching the edge of the springs she hoisted herself out backwards and continued to back away, fear evident on her face though she forced herself to remain outwardly calm. 

"I...hate...turtles..."

"I'm fine, really," Keitaro quickly assured her as she stood there in distress at the edge of the water, waiting for him to get out there. He did, wading over as fast as he could and accepting the towel she handed to him gratefully. 

"Are you sure??" asked Mutsumi again, this time clinging to his arm. "That was quite a spill you took there..." 

"Hai, I am sure." He turned and looked around, Seta and Sarah having already disappeared back down the hole and Motoko having just made her escape around the corner of the house. "I should go check on Motoko-san..."

"What were you doing out there, Kei-kun?" asked Mutsumi, a note of distress still evident in her voice. "You look like you're about to collapse!"

"We were just sparring," said Keitaro before he even considered those words. Mutsumi gasped.

"Sparring?? Did she hurt you, Kei-kun? You have many bumps and bruises..."

"No, no. She did not hurt me, Mutsumi, really, it was when the fence fell..."

Mutsumi jumped to conclusions again. "She made the fence fall on you?! How awful!"

"No, Mutsumi!" Keitaro put a hand over Mutsumi's mouth, talking as quickly as he could. "Motoko and I were sparring, and we both jumped from the roof to the fence. See the holes? Seta-san and Sarah-chan came up through them and made the fence fall, sending both of us into the water, ok?"

"Oh...ok." Mutsumi perked up immediately, taking Keitaro's hand in her own and heading for the house. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up!"

"Uh...sure..." Keitaro stumbled along behind, rubbing himself dry with one hand and a damp towel as best he could. "When did you get here, though? The girls had said that you hadn't been around for years..."

"I came as soon as Tama-chan told me you were back in town," explained Mutsumi with a smile. "I...I wanted to talk to you, Kei-kun."

"Well...we're talking now, aren't we?" reasoned Keitaro with a shrug.

"Hai...but," Mutsumi bit her lip, and blushed slightly. "I heard from a cousin you were looking to remarry, Keitaro-kun."

"I was," he admitted, feeling his cheeks get warmer. "Why do you ask?"

"I...you know I always loved you, Kei-kun." Mutsumi stopped and turned, looking at him shyly. "I can cook and clean and children love me...to be given the chance to be your wife Keitaro-kun has been my dream since I met you..."

Keitaro stared at her for a moment, completely shocked beyond words. "Well..." he started after several moments of silence. "I...uh...you see..."

"Don't answer me now," said Mutsumi quickly with a smile. "Just think about it, ok? We can talk more tonight." 

"Eh...yeah, sure." Keitaro stood there for a moment as she went on down to the main room beside his bedroom door, wondering what in the world he was going to do now. "Even after 3 years of being gone life is complicated...eesh..."

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Motoko quickly slipped out of her drenched clothes, leaving them in the hamper as she reached into her closet...and found she had not one clean gi or hamaka left. Sighing in resignation she pulled out one of her simpler kimonos instead and dried her hair with a spare towel before brushing it out slowly.

A timid knock came to her door. "Obassan?"

"Come in." She was surprised to see Shinji standing there with Sizu and Keiko on either side, all of them looking at her with sad faces. "Hey, what's wrong, you guys? Aren't you glad that your dad's home?"

"We were..." started Sizu, a quiver coming to her chin. "But..."

Keiko took in a huge breath of air and yelled, "Don't leave us, Mama!!" as she launched herself at Motoko. Burying her head in the woman's shoulder, huge tears began to fall down the small girls face as she sobbed. Shinji and Sizu came running in as well, latching themselves to either side.

"You're not leaving, are you??" demanded Sizu innocently. "Kit-chan was talking to Shinobu-chan that you had to return home..."

"You can't leave!" added Shinji passionately. "Who's gonna help us with our homework?? Or tuck us in at night?? Or play with us when we get home from school while the other adults work??"

"Your father could do all that," Motoko reminded him slowly, stroking his hair gently as he wiped his tears on her sleeve. "Besides, you have many other aunts here who would take care of you, ne? If something were to happen and I had to go, you would be fine."

"But we don't want you to," said Sizu pleadingly. "Ever!"

"You can't leave," said Keiko decidedly, wrapping her short arms around Motoko's waist as far as they would go. "Cuz I said so!"

"Kei-chan...Sizu-chan....Shinji-kun..." Motoko sighed as she held them all close, rocking them gently back and forth. "I cannot promise that I'll always be here at Hinata-sou, but I will never leave you entirely." The sun had long set outside and the filled day began to catch up with all of them, Keiko dropping off first to drool down Motoko's kimono and Sizu curling up in a small ball beside her sister soon after. Setting both of them on her bed gently, Motoko let Shinji lay down beside them and sat beside them as a sort of guardian for the moment.

"Motoko-san?" asked Keitaro as he passed her open door. "Have you seen the...oh." He took in the sight of her sitting there beside his three children, all fast asleep in her bed with looks of perfect contentment on their faces. The tracts of tears still there were not lost on him though, and he furrowed his brow in concern. 

She merely glanced at him when he sat next to her, kneeling much in the same way she was. Keitaro, though, felt uncomfortable in the silence that surrounded them and opened his mouth to speak.

"Why are they sleeping here?" he asked quietly, careful not to disturb the children from their slumber.

"They were worried about something," replied Motoko as she swept Sizu's hair from her face with a brush of her fingertips. "And then they fell asleep here, with me. They have had a very busy day after all." She glanced over him, anything she was feeling hidden behind a wall of calm. Her pulse quickened, though, waiting nervously to see what he would say next.

"Hai...what were they worried about, though?" he asked softly. "I saw all three of them come streaking from the kitchen awhile ago, but the only other two in there were Kitsune and Shinobu..."

"They heard that I might have to leave," replied Motoko demurely, refusing to look at him at all. "And were greatly upset by it."

"...do you?" 

The question caught her slightly off guard, as well as the tone with which it had been spoken. She turned to look at Keitaro, who sat with his eyes resting on his beloved children. "Ah...I do not know...why do you care, though?" Her throat tightened as she thought back to what she'd heard herself earlier, when Mutsumi had practically proposed to Keitaro in the hallway. She'd been on the stairs making her way up and had heard it all perfectly. "You have been offered the chance to marry what could be considered the perfect wife, ne? You are home, and with a wife to take care of the young ones...what need have you of me anymore?"

"What if...what if I-....we needed you just for you," started Keitaro slowly, looking away nervously as he continued. Motoko felt her face redden slightly, feeling like a young girl again when he'd first made bumbles like that years ago. "If you heard me talking to Mutsumi-san...well...I turned her down right after I got changed."

"You did?" asked Motoko in surprise, sitting up a little straighter. "But...I thought..."

"She's a sweet girl," continued Keitaro with a slight grin. "But...she's not the girl for me. She was disappointed, of course, but...I think there are better men who deserve her more than I and she would be much happier with."

"I see."

"Motoko-san?" Both adults looked up to see Alicia standing in the doorway with an unusual look on her face. "Gomen, if I'm interrupting something. But...your sister called."

Motoko rose quickly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, she said to remind you that she was arriving tomorrow with your niece," explained Alicia with a shrug. Motoko froze.

"Eh...did she say what time??"

  Alicia turned to walk off down the hall. "Sometime in the morning. Goodnight, Motoko-san. Keitaro-san."

"Uh...night Alicia-chan."

"Goodnight, Alicia-san."

Keitaro rose as he saw the panicked look on Motoko's face. "Is...something wrong?"

"No..." Motoko looked at him distractedly, then calmed herself out of habit. "No, nothing is wrong. I was just...unprepared, is all. We'll talk more in the morning, Keitaro-kun?"

"Of course." He bowed and walked out of the room past her, pausing as if to say something and then seemed to think the better of it and moved on instead. "Good night."

"Good night."

% =%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%+%=%

Motoko sat outside Hinata-sou under the front overhang, meditating lightly as Keiko, Sizu, and Shinji played in front of her together. Keitaro was, thankfully, inside and everyone else had gone off to work or to run this or that errand so she once again pretty much had the house to herself. 

"Eh...excuse me." Motoko opened her eyes as a shadow fell over her, Keitaro standing there with his hands behind his back. What was he doing out here?? He was supposed to be inside doing chores so she wouldn't have to mention him right away when Tsurako got here..."But I believe this is yours." He pulled out a smallish box, kneeling before her and handing it to her in one motion.

"Keitaro, what are you doing?" she asked in a flat voice, a suspicious look on her face.

"Giving you your gift that I never got to give to you?" He then smiled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "At the time I didn't think it was a good time to do it...but I'll forget if  I put it off much longer so...here."

"Alright." She took it from him and opened it carefully, setting the lid of the polished wood box to the side as she realized what it contained. Gently picking it up, she studied the inlays of jade and silver that made up the lotus-flower hair comb. "Keitaro-san...I can't accept this..."

"Please, take it," he replied pleadingly with a slight grin. "I...it's the least I can do for the years you've helped me. You deserve more, a lot more than I can ever repay...and I-" 

Motoko silenced him with a look. "I deserve nothing." She stiffly placed the beautiful comb back in the box. "Especially not this. Gomen, Urashima-san...but-"

"Motoko-chan?" Both looked up to see Tsurako standing there with Muchiko at her side. The older woman's eyes widened in surprise, and then pleasure as she realized who her sister's companion was. "Urashima-san! You have returned."

"Hai, Tsurako-sama, as of day before yesterday," he replied, rising and bowing low to her. She bowed in return, Muchiko copying her exactly. "It is good to be home."

"I'm glad." She patted Muchiko's head and told her to run along and play, sitting beside Motoko in a single motion. "I assume you have settled yourself in, then?"

"I have." Keitaro nodded firmly, drawing himself up slightly. "They have welcomed me back quite graciously. Arigato for the use of your sister, though, there is no one who could have watched and guarded my children better for me than she."

"She does that which is placed before her to the best of her ability," replied the older woman with a nod as well. Motoko blushed slightly, keeping her head slightly bowed. 

"I do not deserve such praise..."

"You deserve more than praise," cut in Keitaro with an appealing look in his eyes. "Please, accept it. The rest did theirs."

"...very well." Motoko took the box and tucked it up her sleeve in resignation, her sister watching all of this with her usual appraising eye. "I accept it. Arigato, Keitaro-san."

"You're welcome." He rose and bowed to them both, making some excuse to go over and start playing with the children.

"You need to leave now while you still can," said Tsurako as soon as he was out of hearing, putting a firm hand on her sister's shoulder. "I know it will be hard...but you must accept it that your lives do not lie along the same path."

"You made your own path," replied Motoko's traitorous mouth before she could stop herself. "I...um...I mean..." She trailed off, pinned where she was by her sister's intense gaze. 

"You wish to stay, then." Tsurako's words were not a question, but a statement, a fact that could not be disproven.

"...hai."

"Why? I thought you said before that he was an honorless, lecherous, weakling male. A pervert who needed to be destroyed, or at least severely punished, for his ways. Why stay in the presence of a man like that?" Tsurako steepled her hands together in front of herself. 

Motoko sighed. "He...I don't know. My head says it is for the children, to be with them always as I promised Naru. He has not remarried, and I swore to watch over them in person at least until he has found another wife. Even then I cannot sever my ties with them completely...you understand."

"But your heart...?" Tsurako raised one eyebrow slightly.

Motoko shifted nervously under Tsurako's gaze. "..."

Tsurako noted the faint blush on her cheeks and nodded sagely. "I see. Is he an honorable man, Motoko-san?"

She paused, then nodded. "He is. Most of his 'acts of perversion' are due to his clumsiness, most of which have disappeared since he matured. He is...quite manly..." She averted her eyes, remembering how his clothes had clung to him like a second skin after their unintended dip in the springs. 

"He is not a lecher, then?" asked Tsurako, noting the slightly starry look in her sister's eyes.

"No, he is not," Motoko replied firmly, her mouth setting itself in a line. "Those...incidents from our younger years were quite ridiculous, now that I look back on it. I myself was guilty of accusing him of many things that were not his fault. I suppose one could say this attachment I have to his children is my way of making it up to him for the past..."

"I'd say he's long since forgiven all of it," Tsurako murmured demurely. "However, there is something I believe you have not realized yet..."

Motoko straightened up and looked right at her sister, surprise written all over her face. "What is that?"

"What are you?"

"...the Head of our Clan, and Head of the Shinmeiryuu School of Sword."

"What was our father before us?"

"...the Head of our Clan, and Head of the Shinmeiryuu School of Sword."

"And our mother?"

"...one of the Clan he married?"

"Actually no." Motoko's eyes widened slightly in surprise, again the knowledge her sister had amazing her more than slightly as she continued. "Mother is not one of the Clan originally. Granted her blood line is not that far off...but Father still found her and brought her home with him as her bride so the line of the Shinmeiryuu school could be continued."

"...I never thought to ask, but who will the line be passed to from me?" asked Motoko slowly, a thoughtful look on her face. 

"You're eldest son or daughter, if you have one," replied her sister lightly. "If not, Muchiko is next in line." She cleared her throat, and added, "And any you...adopt do not count into that. They may learn the way of the sword if they wish and be honorary members of the school...but they will never have any true place in it at all unless they prove themselves worthy."

"I don't understand why you choose to tell me all this now," murmured Motoko uncomfortably. "And there is something else that bothers me as well. If you're implying that I'm....free to what I want with my life in some regards, why did you have to give up the sword after you got married?"

"I didn't have to," explained Tsurako wryly. "I did so because of my own wishes for life. From the time I was a little girl I wanted to be a mother and a wife, like ours. Father wished me to learn the sword, so I did, and I grew to love it as well, but it wasn't what I truly wanted with my life. Kenjou completes me in a way the sword never could, that's why I gave up my inheritance of the Shinmeiryuu school of the Sword. You were always happy with your blade, Motoko-chan, and we assumed you'd never wish to take a mate so informing you of the particulars did not seem to be a problem..."

Motoko turned her head away again. "I still do not know what I wish to do."

"But just so you understand..." Tsurako shrugged broadly. "You are not truly needed back home, Motoko-chan, except for your yearly visits and checkups that you've been making since we first sent you away to board at Hinata-sou. If you were to remain here say...another 15 to 20 due to the fact that Keitaro-san never remarries and you stay to watch his children, we could manage without you." She smiled wanly at this. "I suspect Father enjoys his time as head drill instructor, as well, and would be most appreciative if you didn't return until after his retirement in several years..."

"So it would seem." Motoko smiled a true smile for what seemed the first time in the past few days, looking over at Keitaro who was running around the yard once more with Keiko on his back, being chased by Shinji, Sizu, and Muchiko. "What of Muchiko's training?"

"She needs to attend a more modern school, I think," admitted the older woman lightly. "To send her here to live with her those who could soon become 'cousins' would not be such a bad idea, and you could train her on a daily basis then..."

"That is very true..." Motoko took the box from her sleeve and opened it carefully, drawing out the comb so she could study it once more. On the back her name had been engraved into it in characters that were inlaid with silver. Putting it back, she tucked the box in her sleeve and turned to her sister who was rising slowly.

"Leaving already?" asked Motoko, a touch of regret in her voice.

"Hai, I am needed back home you know," replied Tsurako with a wink. "Letting Father know why you won't be returning for awhile for anything more than a visit. I think he will understand." She bowed. "Good bye, Motoko-chan."

Motoko bowed back with a smile. "Goodbye, onnechan."

Calling Muchiko over to her side, Tsurako bid her a hasty goodbye with some stern admonitions for her to be on her best behavior ever. The pack the young girl had brought with her lay forgotten by the door and Motoko picked it up to take with her upstairs to her own room where Muchiko would sleep. There it was left, Motoko wondering as she left it how much longer it would be hers. Years? Months? One never knew as things changed a little more each day...

"You're sister left," commented Keitaro when he met her at the bottom of the stairs. "I also noticed you didn't go with her." Motoko nodded and smiled ever so slightly, heading into the kitchen with a lighter step than usual. Keitaro followed, puzzled to say the least. "Gomen, if you think this is prying," he started nervously as she began to make a cup of tea for herself. "But...how much longer did she say you have?"

Motoko considered her answer, feeling much more in control than she had the night before. Not that she always had to be in control, and being out of control at time had its pluses, but at least having a clear look into the future made her feel better than before. She allowed herself a small smile, and replied, "As long as I want, really. I am not needed on a daily basis until my father's retirement or death, which ever comes first. And seeing as he's in better shape that most 20 year old males, we're giving him several more years before either of those things are even probable."

Keitaro paused, hoping she'd say more. Seeing she wouldn't, he went on. "And you're staying until then?"

Motoko raised an eyebrow slowly. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked softly with a note of hesitation in her voice.

"What??! No!" Keitaro blushed at his outburst, and settled himself down again. "Ah...no, Motoko-san. None of us ever want you to leave."

"Then," she stated with a shrug. "I will stay." She then smiled, and added, "Muchiko as staying as well, to go to school with Sizu-chan and Shinji-kun. She will be most happy here, I think."

Keitaro beamed and was about to say something when Shinji, Sizu, and Muchiko all ran in, with mischievous looks on their face. Sizu plopped herself in her father's lap and Shinji stood at his side, Muchiko going and crawling onto Motoko's lap as well.

"Where's your sister?" asked Keitaro, worried when he didn't see Keiko among them.

"She's right there," said Sizu as the little girl came parading in proudly with a pillow in her hands, two rings made of daisies on the pillow. "We talked to Alicia-chan, and she told us about some of the American customs they have. Can we show you one?"

"Um, sure," replied Keitaro slowly, though he knew there was something he recognized about all this. Motoko was watching curiously, she rarely had anything to do with Americans, other than Alicia-san, and she'd never spoken to her of such a custom with two rings on a pillow...

"First," said Sizu as she took one of the rings and placed it on Keitaro's left hand and Muchiko did the same, putting it on Motoko's left hand ring finger. "We do this."

"Now," went on Shinji as he pulled out a black book with some paper stuck in it. "She gave me this paper with all the instructions and words to say on it, but it was in English, and she doesn't write Japanese very well, so we're just gonna skip that part and move on again, ok?"

"Oh, ok..."

"Right. Keiko?" The little girl put aside the pillow and stood between them solemnly, her hand spread apart before her in a gesture of great importance. It was spoiled by the fact she was three, but it was good try anyways. 

"By the powers investeded in me, by Alicia-obassan, I promounce you hushand and wife! You are married!" She declared loudly, a huge grin on her face when she was done. Keitaro's jaw dropped and Motoko froze, turning a very interesting shade of red.

"M...married?!" stammered Motoko, unable to say any more than that. "Kids, I..."

"What?" demanded the little girl with a frown. "You don't know why?? Well, me an Sizu-chan and Shinji-kun and Muchiko-chan was talking and you love us and we love you and we just figured it was the best way to stay together forever, right?? Afta all, we dun want papa to marry some old hag..."

Motoko rose slowly, forcing her hands not to shake as she reached for the daisy chain ring as if to take it off. "I believe I must go speak with Alicia-san-"

"Wait," said Keitaro quickly, a sheepish look on his face. "I was...going to ask you something, Motoko-san, but it looks like these guys beat me to it." He bowed low and presented her with ring. "Would...would you be my wife, Motoko-san?" He went a deep red from the tips of his ears all the way down below the collar of his shirt, something that looked more than strangely amusing and Motoko felt her lips twitching up into an amused smile despite her desire to remain serious. Still, she also felt in a way that he wasn't groveling before her and was instead offering her something precious from one equal to another.

"You accept, right?!" demanded Keiko as she tugged on Motoko's clothes, a serious look on her face. Motoko picked her up and swept over to Keitaro's side, planting a kiss on both of them. 

"Of course I do." Keitaro looked surprised for a second before he came and kissed her back, gathering Shinji and Sizu to him as Muchiko leapt onto Motoko's back. He put the ring on her left hand with the daisy one, and odd combination that looked strangely right. Together the six of them stood there in a huge family hug, because that's what they were now, a family.

"I love you, Mama," whispered Keiko as she planted a big wet kiss on Motoko's cheek, Keitaro beaming as he did the same on the other. 

"I love you too, sweety."

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Motoko stood happily on the roof again, watching the four children play among themselves in the yard. After spending an hour together Keitaro had gotten a call from his parents and decided to tell them the great new there and then, now being stuck listening to twenty minutes of congratulations from every member of his extended family who happened to be visiting at that moment. 

"Motoko-san?" The kendo woman turned around quickly to see Alicia standing there dressed as if she were going to go out with her cane in hand already.

"Hai, Alicia-san?" she replied.

"Congratulations." Alicia bowed and smiled, then turned as if to walk out again. Motoko stopped her, putting a hand to her shoulder. 

"Why do I feel this is the last time I'm ever going to see you?" she asked quietly, concern creeping into her voice.

Alicia turned back around, a gentle smile on her face. "Because it is."

Motoko paused. "...why? Is something wrong that we could help with?"

Alicia shook her head, still smiling. "Nope. My job, I guess you could say, is completed. I just have to go home now, that's all."

"What do you mean, you're job?" Motoko frowned and held on even tighter, refusing to let the young woman out of her grip. "Alicia, there's no reason to run like this, if something happened, let us help you."

"I'm not the one who ever needed any help." Alicia shook herself out of Motoko's suddenly slack grasp and nodded slightly. "But, this I will tell you. Narusegawa-san knew her death was upon her even before the doctors found it and prayed that the gods would help her friends in some way. And so they sent me." Alicia bowed, a slight glow beginning to form around her. Motoko backed off slightly, wonderment and awe showing in her eyes, but never any fear. Somehow, she could not bring herself to fear such a person as Alicia. "Naru never knew what I was, but I still served my purpose well. When the weaker members of Hinata-sou needed someone, you or one of the other strong ones like Haruka-san were there for them. When the strong ones needed someone to help them, though, I was there instead. You trusted me because you felt like you could and should, something that was necessary for me to help you along to way to healing with your loss plus bearing the losses of those around you."

"What are you?" asked Motoko simply, too shocked to say anything other than that.

"I am Love." Alicia shined as her smile grew all the brighter. "I am Comfort. I am Strength. I am everything you need when you need it. To put it quite simply." Her lips took on an odd quirk. "I am me." She began to fade from sight, her form scattering into a thousand bits of light. "And now everyone is happy, just as Naru wished they would be despite her death. I will send her your regards, Motoko-san, and those of the rest as well...goodbye!" And with that, she was gone.

Motoko looked about for a moment, then rushed down stairs to the room Alicia had occupied, finding it empty except for a pair of sunglasses that lay in the middle of the room.

"What are you looking at?" asked Keitaro as he came up behind her, gently wrapping his arms about her waist. "Oh. Alicia-san must have forgotten those when she left..."

"What do you mean, when she left?" asked Motoko, feeling extremely bewildered.

Keitaro looked at her like she'd lost it slightly. "She left this morning for America, don't you remember? She gave a months' notice of when she'd have to leave before I even came, right?"

Motoko blinked, then felt her memory fuzzing up for a moment before everything went back into focus. "Oh...right! I knew that...." Keitaro teased her lightly about it as they walked back out to the yard and watched the children play, arms wrapped around each other and content to just stand there and be together.

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Alicia looked down on them all with a happy smile on her face, her golden eyes shining in a way they never could have hidden behind those sunglasses for all those years. She said only one thing before she left, skipping among the clouds like a school girl.

"Each day comes bearing its gift of happiness, at last they have learned to untie the ribbons..."

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Has no one else found it strange that Motoko's sister passed off the School of Sword to her and no one seemed to make a big deal out of it?? Everything concerning that I did my best with, considering that there were so many possible reasons why for everything. Like why such a post could be shoved from one sibling to the next without an actual reason why. (If there is one in the Love Hina anime after the Spring Special, I haven't seen it so : P And if it's in the Manga, I haven't read it, so : P) Here's the words you might not know about. As for their spellings, I looks all over the place and got so many different spellings of things...here's the best I could do.

Konichiwa-      Good afternoon

Hai-                 yes       

Obassan-         aunt

Sayonara-            Goodbye

Otosan-           Father

Hamaka-         Cross between pants and long skirt

Baka-               Idiot

Kimono-         Trad. Japanese outfit

Gi-                   Over outfit/shirt

Arigato-           Thank you

Gomen-           Sorry

If I missed some, my bad, but I'm not perfect, so you know... Hope you enjoyed it, remember, I OWN NONE OF IT. Please review, though, the author (ME) will love you for it. ^_^

~Crosseyedbutterfly~


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